On Loyalty
Post from January 27, 2018 (ā» June 1, 2021), filed under Everything Else.
Loyalty is about love; and when weāre not in love:
Loyalty is about will; and when weāre not willing:
Loyalty is about values.
Loyalty only requires either one of love, will, or values; and as such it has not one but two fail-safes; and that makes disloyalty such a grave and hurtful offense.
Someone who isnāt loyal is acting without love; without will; and without values towards the ones they betray.
And yet, while we can argue that weāre not always in love and that weāre not always willing, we should always be protective of our greatest possession, our values, like respect, compassion, or honor.
The disloyal have no excuse; they had not one but three options to be loyal, and it disgraces them that in the end, they could neither keep an eye on their values nor on the space between their legs.
Itās easy to be loyal, and inexcusable to be disloyal; if not for love again, such offense could never be forgiven.

Figure: Loyalty. (Copyright King Features Syndicate, Inc., distr. Bulls.)
About Me

Iām Jens Oliver Meiert, and Iām an engineering manager and author. Iāve worked as a technical lead for Google, Iām close to the W3C and the WHATWG, and I write and review books for OāReilly. Other than that, I love trying things, sometimes including philosophy, art, and adventure. Here on meiert.com I share some of my views and experiences.
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Perhaps my most comprehensive book: The Web Development Glossary (2020). With explanations and definitions for literally thousands of terms from Web Development and related fields, building on Wikipedia as well as the MDN Web Docs. Available at Apple Books, Kobo, Google Play Books, and Leanpub.