Loyalty is Over-Rated and Often Mis-Used...

[Alex]

Loyalty fascinates me....I can sit and look at it for hours.

How much loyalty does one give to another human being simply because that person agrees with you, is nice to you, or is part of your family ?

Do we EVER fight for a concept, idea, philosophy, or rule if it interferes with the loyalty of a friend or a family member ?

Just recently, I was watching the news...and there was a story about the newly and stealthfully installed "Big-Brother" Still-Picture Cameras that are being put at "dangerous" intersections to identify drivers who go through red lights.

The "Big-Brother" Still Cameras take pictures of cars that go through red-lights, a copy of the picture is mailed to the unsuspecting driver a month later, and the driver in the picture must pay a $300 fine!

OUCH!

Nowadays, a picture is a thousand words or $300 hundred dollars!

In the news story I saw, a judge is about to disqualify over 300 tickets of drivers who were allegedly caught by the "Big-Brother" Still Camera going through a red light at a particular intersection....

....the judge is about to deny the validity of the tickets on a pretty silly technicality, the fact that the ticketing is being done by a private business and not by the local government itself, which apparently is against local law.

The news story about the "Big-Brother" Pictures includes an interview with a woman who had gotten the shock of her life when she received a photo in the mail one month after allegedly going through a red light.

She paid the $300.00 fine.

When the reporter asked if she would be more careful in that intersection from now on, her answer was provocative...

"I will avoid the intersection", she said.

The video editor of this news story influenced the story line with their interview editing choices.

The news story never revealed whether or not the woman believed she got the ticket because she actually was caught going through a red-light, or if she simply believed the ticket she received in the mail was a mistake. (typical news story, edited down until you lose most of the topic!)

If she believes her ticket was a mistake, then she has a legitimate reason to avoid the intersection in the future since she has no way to refute a photo that shows her either speeding or running a red-light, or both...(keep in mind, I think the photo that the "Big-Brother" Camera records may not be completely accurate in the speed it assesses her car was traveling at NOR whether the light was actually red or green)

....but if we assume for a moment that she was in fact caught going through a red light...her answer of "I now avoid that intersection" is fascinating.

She could have just as easily said, I'll try a little harder to not go through a red light!

But she didn't!

Why?

...Perhaps she feels her "freedom" is being" suppressed.

Red-light crashers are the number one cause of accidents in LA, and apparently, red-light running was reduced by 66% AFTER the "Big-Brother" Camera was installed at a similar intersection.

So, in this particular case, the Battle between "Loyalty to Ones Personal Freedom" versus "Loyalty to a Concept, Idea, Philosophy or Rule", had a clear victor.

For the woman who received the $300 ticket, it appears that Loyalty to Ones Personal Freedom was dramatically more important than just not running through a red-light.

So this person will avoid the "Big-Brother" Intersection whenever possible because it stops her from being Loyal to Her own Personal Freedoms.

Perhaps we defend loyalty in the name of freedom even when it makes us more likely to do the wrong and dangerous thing.

And when it comes to being Loyal to a Concept, Idea, Philosophy or Rule that makes sense, we become passive in the defense of that Concept, Idea, Philosophy or Rule.

Most of us normally choose loyalty to our own absolute personal freedoms over loyalty to the protection of a concept, idea, philosophy or rule?

Why is that?

(By the way, I think the whole idea of ticketing someone merely from a photo taken by a machine is so evil and wrong...perhaps the lady who received the ticket had the answer right after all!)

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[This message has been edited by Alex (edited September 16, 2001).]

[Alex]

Another Topic Post written before the September 11th, 2001 Tragedy. (I fixed a couple syntax and spelling errors a week later)

Well, now we will see how "loyalty" on each side will prevent real progress from ever happening.

Have your own personal experiences proved otherwise?

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-Alex