4 Allegiances: Which One Will You Choose?

The Importance of Allegiance

"Your allegiance is the most powerful thing in your whole life because it is the driving force behind virtually all of your actions, choices, and even thoughts. If you choose your allegiance well and then stick to it, you will be a great success in life. It is that powerful" (Thomas Jefferson Education for Teens, p. 61).

Your allegiance is incredibly powerful for good or evil. From your allegiance stems all of your thoughts, choices, actions, and words.

Human Beings Usually Have One of these Allegiances:

1. Impressing/Others/Insecurity

2. Having/Self/Ego

3. Bad/Hate/Anger

4. Good/God/Love

A lot of evil things have been done in the name of Good/God/Love, but these people are always following another allegiance

--Oliver DeMille

The ironic thing is that most people do not consciously choose their allegiance! Without careful thought, we usually begin by wanting to fit in (usually during the teenage years) and end up at allegiance #1.

#1 Allegiance to Impressing/Others/Insecurity

One who is operating from this allegiance is “deeply and persistently controlled by fear. . . Most people start out just wanting to feel accepted, just wanting to fit in, and then they build their lives, their careers, whole economies and nations around the fear of losing face or things” (TJ Ed for Teens, p. 62) They spend their time trying to fit in wherever they are (at church, around friends, at school, at work etc.). They choose how to do their hair, what to eat, how to talk, and what to say—they eventually give away their true identity—because they want to fit in with others. Again, they don’t know who they really are, they just try hard to fit in and to avoid losing face or losing possessions.

These people are:

1. Deceived by people in power

2. Go to the crowd (to get self-esteem or to find value and worth)

Time for An Example from Star Wars

I think of this allegiance to others when Kylo Ren chooses to kill Han. He says “I am conflicted…” and believes killing Han (his father) is his way to “prove” himself to the Supreme Leader Snoke. Kylo Ren motivated to be a strong enough pupil.

#2 Allegiance to Having/Self/Ego

Once it becomes clear that their lives are lived in fear, some decide to ignore what other people think, reject fitting in, and then “make so much money or gain so much power that ‘nobody can ever take away their status or possessions” (Ibid., p. 62).

They begin to:

1. Physically control others

2. Manipulate others

3. Coerce others

4. Set themselves up as a religious leader

At some point, though, people start to realize that life includes losses. Despite all their efforts, those who “succeed” in this having/self/ego paradigm realize that they can never have enough money or possessions to avoid loss.

When Anakin Skywalker goes to save his mother and watches her die he is allied to Having/Self/Ego. He blames her captors for her death and it’s a big blow to his ego. He promised his mother he would save her and he couldn’t. He then acts out in anger, killing the entire camp of people who had taken his mother from him. Though he had a high status (as a jedi in training) he realized he didn’t have enough power to avoid the loss of his mother.

Allegiance to Bad/Hate/Anger

“Very few individuals, maybe none start out here; but as people lose in life and their fear of loss increases, some who originally sought just to fit in or to increase their own gratification or even just to feel more loved end up choosing to turn to anger and hate” (TJ Ed for Teens, p. 63).

These are:

1. Evil people

2. Selfish people

3. Good people who are ignorant or deceived

When Anakin decides to turn to the dark side he becomes evil (or at least deceived). His FEAR of his nightmare—where Padme suffers and dies—makes him thirst for power over death in order to save Padme. His fear of loss is so high that he ends up turning to anger and hate. When Emperor Palpatine tells Anakin that the dark side of the force “is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural” it convinces him to choose the dark side over his jedi training. He kills all the young jedi at the temple and then tries to convince Padme “I am more powerful than the Chancellor, I... I can overthrow him! And together, you and I can rule the galaxy! We can make things the way we want them to be!” Ironically, he strangles Padme when she resists his plan. He has now allied himself to bad/hate/anger. The irony is that in his obsessive quest to prevent "bad" things from happening, he becomes the dark side. His allegiance was not firm. Obi Wan said, "You were the chosen one! It was said that you would destroy [the evil side], not join them! You were to bring balance to the force, not leave it in darkness."

In all three examples we see the danger of being deeply, persistently controlled by fear. Fear of losing face, or losing things, or losing opportunities for power. When we would rather fit in or feel accepted more than do what is right, we are operating from one of the allegiances other than to Good/God/Love.

#4 Allegiance to Good/God/Love

“Selfless service to the right person, subject, or cause brings about a sense of purpose and intrinsic reward that transcends. . .infatuation or immediate gratification . . . .The true followers of [Good/God/Love] give their lives to doing good and [to] helping others be happy. They lead. They change the world. They do all this because they chose the right allegiance and gave their lives to it. In this process, they become their real, true selves” (Ibid., p. 61). When people choose the best allegiance, they people become leaders, examples, and have enduring power.

We have many examples of those who were allied to Good/God/Love. To continue the Star Wars examples, we have Luke and Ray, Yoda and Obi Wan among others who are allied to good. They often died for the right, and usually faced immense opposition from the dark side. When Kylo Ren tells Ray “you need someone to train you in the force” she realizes that the force is within her; she takes a moment to re-center herself and then is able to fight Kylo Ren with more power.

Real-life examples include Joan of Ark (led by God); poor, unremarkable Agnes (who became “Mother Theresa”) and Ghandi. They were vulnerable—facing powerful opposition—and they were openly criticized, disliked and persecuted. But they did it anyway and accomplished incredible good because they had good motives—their allegiance was secure.

Stand in front of the mirror, look yourself in the eyes, and ask your Real Self who you are supposed to be and what good you can accomplish if you are allied to Good/God/Love. Find your mission, and then live true to that Real Self— that’s what life is really about.