Loyalty is becoming a national problem

Loyalty is a tremendous virtue.

However, the pressure of being loyal is currently one of society’s major problems. It’s a misconception that loyalty is a lifelong bond never to be broken. Not true.

Loyalty is only a quality when it supports a positive cause. Peer pressure to remain loyal, no matter what the consequences are, is a favorite trick for today’s sidewalk bullies. It’s causing mounting stress on the nation’s youth, and some adults.

Combine bullying on social media and the nightly national news and it makes perfect sense as to why kids are confused. Confusion is a state of mental health. Contradiction adds to confusion.

By day we explain bullying is bad. By night, the national news has the top sidewalk bully on the podium name calling and sending threats through the airwaves while children watch.

The country’s mental health crisis is sparking national concern. Locally, there have been a number of forums addressing the shootings in Bertie and Martin counties as they continue to sporadically occur.

On Aug. 9, a back to school event is being held at the E.J. Hayes Center in Williamston. The focus of the Operation SOY event is ‘Save Our Youth.’

Renee Purvis made the decision to host the event after a senseless shooting recently took the life of a teen in Purvis’ neighborhood. Six other youths were arrested and charged for the crime.

At first no one at the location of the shooting saw anything. A perfect example of loyalty to a fault.

We all wonder what prompts a child to shoot someone. Is the loyalty between young boys something that cannot be broken, or else? Could pressure be one factor pushing kids to suicide? These are all challenges for parents, educators, community leaders and citizens to explore.

Once again, the pressure of having to be loyal, or else, could be a driving factor in teen suicide as they seek a ‘way out’ from being bullied or threatened.

In 2023, 14 students died at North Carolina State University, seven from suicide.

As a community leader, Purvis has her hands on the pulse of the community and realizes these problems need to be addressed. The event will explore community solutions, offer mental health wellness support and discuss bullying, gang involvement and the importance of spirituality. She is loyal to the cause and is sponsoring the event personally, as a concerned citizen.

Currently, most of us are loyal to something or someone. And we should be able to honestly speak to the importance of loyalty. We should also be able to explain how vital it is to be loyal to people that are truthful, have character, integrity and who are not bullies.

We need to explain how bullies seldom produce anything except trouble for those most loyal to them.

We need to set positive examples for kids, explaining the difference between fact and fiction, reality and tomfoolery, loyalty and lies and what it means to become a convicted felon and possibly serve a jail term, for loyally pulling a trigger.