An Analysis of the Principles of Loyalty in Friendship

Analysis, Pages 7 (1507 words)

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Be Loyal is to be faithful to one's friends, principles, country , school, job , etc. is a tenet that everybody have , animals have it too. Gorillas are a clear example of it. In Africa these great apes live in group. As many as thirty gorillas may live together, but there are more likely to be from six to seventeen animals in a group. The group always include at least one full-grown male that by this time has grown a saddle silver hair on his back.

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Whithin the group there are often one or more younger black back males, a few females , and a number of youngsters and infants. A mature silverback at least twelve years old is their leader. This enormous gorilla decides when and where the group travels , feeds , rests and sleeps. The leader is the chief protector of the group.

When danger threatens , the others usually slip off , leaving the silverback behind to warn and repel the invader. They rarely fight.

Females gorillas may scream at each other - and perhaps even scratch and bite lightly. At such times glare from the silverback is enough to restore the peace . A stare or nudge from the leader also keeps the males behaving. With infants, even the firmest leader is often easygoing. He allows them to pull his hair , punch him, and crawl all over him . Once when a little gorilla leaned against a huge silverback , the male grabbed a long-stemmed flower and tickled the infant with it. Babies are in fact, popular with the entire group.

Male and female gorillas hug and play with them much the way we do with human babies. Females move up in rank when they become mothers. If one wants a better place to sit, a childless female will move over for her. Or a female without little ones will play baby-sitter while a mother eats or naps

The jungle exposes all animals to dangers , even the mighty gorilla . These great apes climb trees carefully , but now and then they misjudge the strength of the branches and fall. They also get injuried by running into sharp, pointed branches. When they can , they treat their own wounds. They lick the broken skin and pull the hair from the injured area. If they can't reach it, another animal in the group will care for the wound. In this group of gorillas we can appreciate a family. We see how loyal the leader is to his family and the family to his leader. Inside a family is the same, the from the children to their parents and vice versa. We care about our family's members and we always try to take care of them. The same thing happen in our Dojan , we are like a family that take care of each other. We are loyal to our teachers we trust in our teacher and they trust in us. We are loyal to our classmates, we care about them, that why we try to help them to learn , to improve and to practice good. "No man is an island , entire of itself ..." (John Donne). I particularly find frienship as a good example of loyalty. The contemporary saying "people need people" is a way of expressing our need for association with friendly others. From birth to death we need the nurture of other humans ,and nearly everything we do is affected by what responses we anticipate and receive .

As we move from place to place , from relationships to relationships, from job to job (from school to school), often far away from home , we desperatey need some trusted friends. Our survival depends on finding ways to treat strangers and be treated by them with kindness , compassion, and benevolence - in short, as friends. What , then , are the qualities of a friend ? I know the feeling! have when I am with one. It is "I belong here". Seeing a good friend is like going home , or like tasting Mother's cooking. I feel secure and need not protect myself. "Here" , I say, "it is safe , for am loved", that's how I feel now each time I cross my Dojan 's door. However, it is not onlly the survival of our species that depends on our capacity for making friends, but our individual survival as well. Our cities are becoming unlivable because of what individuals do to each other. Resident and others forms of individual violence. People who are in the way are treated as objects to be destroyed , no more than inanimate interferences. And even when there is no threat of violence, we al still must be nurtured by caring others in order to continuity in our urban landscapes, without them we would starve . Yet, there is an important element of selfishness in all friendships, even if that does not appear to be so.

We like our friends because of how they make us feel and because there is some mutual advantage to having them . Even in the apparent altruism of helping a friend , there is an element of selfishness, for in doing so I feel good. I asked one friend for his definition of friend. "Someone you can count on in a pinch", he quickly said. I asked another friend. "Loyalty", she said , with just as much certainty. Others mentioned consistency , sharing confidences, and thoughtfulness. "People you can do things you like with", another said. "Those who would never cause your harm no matter what", "unconditional love". trustworthiness is another quality that is prized. And honesty - "Be honest and do no harm". Yet that is precisely what occurs with friends, and if you know they sincerely care for you, you can accept the brutal truth. You know that what they say and do is with goodwill in mind.

An important thing about a friend is that he or she wants to be and share with you, without considering what material gain may accrue from the relationship. A confusing factor is that some people today are taught to act like friends, when manipulation is their only purpose. Salesmen of every kind are sometimes trained that way. The statue that stands in front of Father Flanagan's Boys Town depicts one boy carrying another. The caption beneath it reads, "He ain't heavy , Father , he's my brother". That is the way it is with true friends. They are no burden when you carry them-no more so than carrying yourself would be. The burden carried by a friend is yours to share , and your burden is aldo his , for you know your fates are linked. Friends can accept and appreciate us for who and what we are , and for what we share - values, work , location , school, some experience ( Taekwon-Do), even other friends. ner".

We don't have to explain ourselves to them nor they to us. Friends know that in some basic way they are just like we are, and that is what allows us to became so close. What ,then , is the magical process by which a stranger becomes a friend ? We need to look beyond the superficialities of manners, culture, and immediate design, for the ways in which we are all alike reside in a deeper layer . Beneath the surface, there is a potential friend in nearly every stranger.

I consider loyalty an important element to learn Taekwon-Do . We should be loyal to our Dojan as we are to our family and friends. Another important element necessary to learn Taekwon-Do is "Perseverence". Perseverence is the continue steady effort made to fulfil some aim . We must persevere at our training to become proficient at Taekwon-Do. We must not become discouraged because we are having some difficulty perfecting a technique or learning a pattern. Without consistent and dedicated training , the necessary skills will never be learned.

I find this tenet of Taekwon-Do very important to reach. If we don't persevere we will never reach our goals. I came here eight months ago , with a red belt and the knowledge of just eight Taegeuk. It was embarrassing when teachers, and other colours belt asked me if I knew some other pattern or some step sparring and I said "NO"; or when we had to do some partner work, and I couldn't help my partner to practice because I didn't know what or how to do it ; or when an adult red belt refused to work with me because I didn't know my 20 steps movements. At that moment I felt horrible, I wanted to give up, but instead I decided to try again , to learn what I didn't know. Get a black belt seemed unreachable to me, but I was ready to learn and persevere as much as I can and do my best ( at least to try ).

Finally I made through. Now I know what I didn't know, and now I also can help my partner to practice an perfectionate himself. I also can help my partner when she or he doesn't remember something. I still having a lot to learn , but I don't feel embarrass any more; and I am ready for it.