Exploring Loyalties

Exploring Loyalties To What Extent Do Contending Loyalties Need to be Reconciled?

Contending Loyalties Loyalty to Country

Loyalty to Family

Loyalties

Loyalty to Religion

What other types of loyalties might people have?

Loyalty to Environment

Nationalism & Loyalty 

Nationalism requires that people feel a sense of loyalty to, commitment to, and identification with a particular nation.



How deep does one’s loyalty to a nation have to be?



Does this depend on the nation?



Does it depend on the circumstances?



Are there times when your loyalty to a nation might be challenged?

Conscription Issue A poster in favour of conscription

A poster opposed to conscription

The Battle of Thermopylae 300 Spartan soldiers fought the invading

Persian army to the last man with the intention of sacrificing their lives. There was no hope of victory, only a hope of drawing the rest of Greece

into the war through their courage and sacrifice.

Contending Loyalties in Canada 

Canada is a nation of nations.



Canada was founded on the basis of three distinct nations 

First Nations



Anglophone



Francophone

Laura Secord warns Fitzgibbons, 1813 Loyalist Laura Secord warning the British (Lieutenant - James FitzGibbon) and First Nations of an impending American attack at Beaver Dams June 1812

Population Demographic of Contemporary Canada

What does the demographic variety suggest to you about loyalty in modern day Canada?

Contending Loyalties of French Canadians 

French Canadians may feel a variety of loyalties:



Loyalty to other Francophones, loyalty to the province, and loyalty to their cultural or historical backgrounds



Are these loyalties exclusive? Can a Québécois citizen maintain loyalty to both the federal and provincial governments?



Bill 101 entrenched in the Quebec charter the belief that loyalty to Francophone culture was integral to the maintenance of Francophone identity.

Non-Nationalist Loyalties 

Non-nationalist loyalties are loyalties that people feel towards things such as religion, region, culture, and race that are not necessarily part of their sense of nationalism toward a nation.



A good example of non-nationalist loyalties are religious loyalties.



Often one’s religious beliefs can come into conflict with loyalties expected from one’s nation.

Conscientious Objection in Canada 

During the middle of the 19th century the federal government provided special privileges for certain religious groups – Hutterites, Mennonites, and Doukhobors- all of whom were pacifist.



These people were encouraged to emigrate to Canada and settle and farm in underdeveloped areas. In exchange, they were promised religious freedom, including exemption from military duty.



However, individuals from these groups faced problems during WWI & WWII when some fellow Canadians their loyalty to Canada.

Global Loyalties 

Many people feel loyalties that extend beyond the nations to which they belong.



Internationalism is the belief in cooperation among nations for the benefit and well-being of humankind.



Many international organizations focus solely on the well-being of the global community. 

Oxfam



Doctors Without Borders



Greenpeace



World Wildlife Fund

Environmentalism & Contending Loyalties 

An issue that has gained momentum in the last decade is the growing concern regarding environmentalism.



This focuses on the belief that our loyalty to the well being of our planet should supersede our loyalty towards other considerations.



Is this belief in environmentalism a reality? Or do other loyalties trump environmental concerns?

This is an ad from the WWF. Note how it links environmental and ecological well being to individual health and well being.

Alberta Oil Sands

This image should hit really hit home…. Literally. How do we as Canadians, and Albertans, reconcile our dependence on oil with the reality that we are one of the single most polluting regions on Earth.

Thom Yorke on the Alberta Oil Sands 

“so yes rumour has it that the canadians came to the copenhagen summit demanding to increase their co2 emmissions. principally cuz of the tar sands and how much money the faceless motherfu@*ers in the oil industry stand to make out of it.. who are obviously bankrolling the government there. i find it hard to correlate this all with the canadians i know who are very forward thinking”

Humanitarianism & Contending Loyalties 

Humanitarianism is a philosophy based on the belief that all humans deserve to be treated with respect and dignity.



That all sounds nice, but how do we actually enforce this in our day to day lives?



The deteriorating situation in Libya reinforces the reality of humanitarianism and the challenges it faces.

Libyan No-Fly Zone 

The UN security Council was debating whether or not to establish a n0-fly zone over Libya.



The rationale is that this will prevent the Libyan government from using military aircraft and weapons on its dissenting people (they have already dropped bombs and fired machine guns on protestors).



Seems like there would be little opposition to establishing this no-fly zone; however, several countries including Germany and the USA are opposed to the establishment of a no-fly zone.



Why would this be? What loyalties could be preventing these nations from backing a Libyan no-fly zone?