Kiyomi Kikuchi
People today are more often pursuing fast-paced lives that are convenient and simple.
The word “loyalty” sounds old and unnecessary. People respect others, but they rarely show their loyalty to others. Why don’t people express faithfulness anymore?
Even dogs can show their loyalty to their owner if they are treated well.
A faithful dog, Hachiko, demonstrated to people in Japan what loyalty was.
Hachiko was taken care of by Hidesaburo Ueno, professor of agriculture at Tokyo University since 1924. Ueno gave great affection to Hachiko.
As a part of the dog’s routine, he would see Ueno off at the door in the morning and waited for him near the Shibuya train station in the evening.
One night in 1925, Hachiko waited for his owner as usual, but Ueno did not come back to the station because he died of a stroke while at the university.
Hachiko did not understand his owner’s death. For 10 years Hachiko devoted his life to waiting for his dead owner near the station.
People close by the station were touched by his faithfulness and made a bronze statue that faces the station, as if Hachiko is still waiting for his owner.
This station has become a famous place to meet someone today.
Although Hachiko’s story is a famous symbol of loyalty, even normal dogs commonly represent their loyalty by wagging their tails.
Why aren’t humans more complicated at expressing their faithfulness?
Divorce is a choice and morally, most people accept that. However, no matter the reason, the separation of parents hurts children and they feel strong anxiety as to whether they can get support from each of their separate parents.
In this situation, it is highly possible for children not to show loyalty to their parents because they broke a family union.
How about society in general? The modern world is a competitive place. The strong prey upon the weak.
Most people want to promote themselves as the best, so they sometimes deceive others or get their rivals into trouble for their own success.
An old Japanese proverb says, “Yesterday’s friend becomes today’s enemy.”
Showing loyalty to enemies sounds like a good idea, but in the real world, it is foolish to express faithfulness to friends after they turn into enemies.
For this reason, some people are afraid to show their loyalty to others.
People used to be loyal to their jobs. Some employees did not mind working overtime for their companies without extra payment. However, most companies now lay people off whether they have showed loyalty or not. On the other hand, some excellent employees are head-haunted and move to better companies easily.
In this situation, they do not need to express faithfulness to their bosses or company. People have a difficult time expressing their loyalty due to their environment. They feel faithfulness to others is not necessary in modern life.
However, I want to have a beautiful mind like Hachiko — even though it is foolish.
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