What does loyalty mean to you?

This may sound like a silly or simple question to you, but it is one that has challenged humanity for a very long time. To whom or to what do we owe loyalty? Is it inbred in us or is it a result of our social relationships?

All of us possess loyalty. Usually it’s not noticed or so habitual that we take it for granted. Loyalty can be either very positive or it can be negative. It depends on a number of factors. For example…

A word of caveat here: the following thoughts are mine alone. I owe no sense of loyalty to anyone or anything for them. Hmmm…we’ll see!

Wait a minute! Before we get gong on this subject, let me refresh myself with a tasty beverage. I’ll take an ice cold glass of water, thank you! Did that surprise you since you know this column is supposed to be about wine? But you see, that’s how loyalty is dictated by circumstances. I am thirsty, and will allow some nice cooling water to satisfy me. At least this time! More on this subject in a bit.

My initial sense of loyalty came to me very quietly. As a young lad, I was a member of a family, and took that membership for granted. Don’t we all? Yet, as the years passed, I saw how we each stood up for each other and supported each other. Some of that support was very passive — like a word in passing, and some of that support was very noticeable like when someone would criticize a family member. Either way, we had each others back.

That’s familial loyalty.

Then, there’s school class loyalty. One of my classmates in public school was a slightly challenged fellow. One day, in the school playground, some other students began to taunt him. It really irritated me and my fellow classmates. We actually stood up, faced the bullies, and told them to knock it off. He’s our friend, and we will always be dedicated to him. To my knowledge, such behavior never happened again.

That’s social loyalty.

While in elementary school, we always began the day by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. We were young kids, and did it because our teacher told us to do it. Did any of us think about what that pledge meant? I seriously doubt it. However, it did instill in some of us the need to find out what the heck those words meant to us. We studied history. We tried to understand the Constitution of the United States. For me, that meant our flag was special, and we should never use it for advertising purposes, political purposes or personal gain. It was a symbol of us — a united people with the vision of life, liberty and justice for all. Those virtues are the basis of who we are, and should never be taken for granted.

Later in life, I was called to military service — just like millions of women and men before me. I answered that call because it was an act of national loyalty. That doesn’t make me any better than anyone else, but it was an extension of how my fellow elementary students stood up for our fellow student. We stand up for everyone. Not just a few privileged few but we are loyal to the basic concepts of our republic.

That’s national loyalty.

Now, it’s time for a bit of refreshment so I’ll have a bit of Shannon Ridge Petite Sirah. The awesome strawberry, vanilla and dark chocolate tastes will lubricate (?) me for more renderings on loyalty. By the way, I am totally loyal to this wine. It will become a dedicated friend of yours.

I think it’s also important for us to be loyal to ourselves. In an era of too much “my way or the highway” thinking, it is absolutely necessary for each of us to remain loyal to our basic beliefs, and not be swayed by hate filled rhetoric, a national being torn apart by untruths and awful behavior.

Again, it goes back to that document we studied in school. Along with that document, our religious faith tells us to be loving, kind and to reach out to the strangers among us. Our national Constitution says the same thing. Shouldn’t we be loyal to them? It’s in those beliefs that we will find ourselves. Of course, we are going to disagree on some things. You might like a cabernet sauvignon, and I might prefer a good merlot. You might like a chardonnay, and I might prefer a good Riesling. So what? Can’t we sit down, sip and talk in a civil manner?

That being loyal to yourself.

While studying our nation’s founding document, I noticed something about the Constitution. It is based on fundamental principles that will benefit everyone. It is not based on a personality.

Let us always be loyal to sound principles and not to a personality. Of course, it doesn’t hurt to be loyal to your favorite beverage!

As always, eat and drink in moderation, but laugh with reckless abandon!

Cheers!