LOYALTY TO AMERICA’S FOUNDING PRINCIPLES VS. LOYALTY TO A PRESIDENT OR A PARTY

[Draggingtree]

Patterico

2/1/2018

Loyalty to America’s Founding Principles vs. Loyalty to a President or a Party

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 1:25 pm

One thing Donald Trump does a lot is demand loyalty. Indeed, I often hear Trump supporters talk about the importance of loyalty — loyalty to our President, and loyalty to his party. This world is going to hell in a handbasket, they lament, because there just isn’t any loyalty any more. And as these people fight in the trenches, often taking embarrassingly laughable partisan positions to fight for “their” side, they shed a tear for those who refuse to join them in such antics.

Loyalty can be an admirable trait, but it can also be a perversion if you’re loyal to the wrong thing or people. The key mistake people make, I think, is instilling a sense of loyalty to an organization, as opposed to the principles for which it stands.

A smart fellow named Jerry Pournelle once announced the Iron Law of Bureaucracy, which states: “In any bureaucratic organization there will be two kinds of people: First, there will be those who are devoted to the goals of the organization. . . . Secondly, there will be those dedicated to the organization itself. . . .