My Thoughts on Loyalty and Respect

He is the half part of a blessed man,
Left to be finished by such as she;
And she a fair divided excellence,
Whose fulness of perfection lies in him.
-Shakespeare "King John" Act II

So, apparently yet another Hollywood marriage has been rocked by allegations of infidelity. This comes as no surprise to me, but after I read about this one, I got thinking and pondering about loyalty and respect.

I have decided that the lack of those two things is proving to be the downfall of society. We live in a world where it's all about me (I don't mean me, me, I mean the individual). In workplaces, families, marriages, sports, business, wherever- there is no concept of loyalty. But, I mostly want to share my thoughts on loyalty in relationships (family or otherwise)...

Marjorie Pay Hinckley (wife of Gordon B. Hinckley, 15th president of the LDS Church) was giving a talk once and she addressed husbands and wives with this counsel- "Be fiercely loyal." Wise counsel, no doubt. I believe that being fiercely loyal means a lot of different things- don't spend inordinate amounts of time on Facebook chatting with or texting someone a member of the opposite gender who is not your spouse. Even seemingly innocent lunch dates can give the wrong impression. Don't do anything that would give even the appearance that you are being unfaithful or disloyal to someone who is not your spouse. Don't be critical of your spouse to other people- if you have issues with him/her, take it up with them. That's not to say that if there is a serious problem that you shouldn't seek out counsel- but don't just go blabbing your partner's flaws to the world. If you need to seek out counsel- talk to an ecclesiastical leader or someone similar.

And on the subject of respect- ladies, let's have respect for one another as women! As to the indifelity that is so rampant in Hollywood- I find it impossible to believe that these women didn't know the men they became involved with were married. Not to excuse the men's behaviors (because let's be honest, there's no excuse for what they did) but seriously women- what's the deal? I believe that part of being a woman is learning to respect yourself and respect others. If you know he is not available, don't even sort of go there! Don't be the thing or person that would bring thoughts of disloyalty and disrespect into his mind or his life! If he's paying too much attention to you- tell him to step off! Tell him you have too much respect for his wife/girlfriend to let it happen. There is such a thing as right and wrong.

I believe that if there were a dramtic increase in loyalty and respect among ourselves and the world, then the divorce rate would drop, families would be happier and marriages would be much stronger. I recognize that I am not married, so it may seem to some that I am speaking out of turn, but just like a man can be an effective obstetrician, a single person can be an advocate for stronger marriages.