Loyalty

This post started in my head because of a few people who I encounter in my daily life that questioned, or at least reacted with shock, to my stated intent to remain loyal to the Wolf while he is deployed.  These are casual acquaintances, who know nothing of the challenges we have been facing approaching this deployment.  It raised conversation on a MilSpouse Chat Forum I frequent as to loyalty to one's spouse/partner, and how it seems, in our socitey, to be becoming rarer.


Unfortunately in our modern society, one of instant gratification and the "me" attitude, the willingness to sacrifice, to stand by your partner (or a friend) when there is personal sacrifice, or even personal discomfot involved, seems to be a foreign concept to some.


It is also appearant that this lack of loyalty is not only becoming "accepted" in some circles, it is becoming expected behavior.  


Case in point:  it has came up in previous conversations between the Wolf and I, and came up again today when I was in conversation with his sister-in-law.  Since previous partners of his have cheated on him (while deployed or not) it is in the back of his head that I will too, and that he can't reasonably expect my loyalty while he is away.  While normally my reaction to this would be to take offense and defend my character, with him I can see where the previous baggage has came from (I knew some of the women, and was his friend though a few of them), the circumstances that have taught him this.


There is also another spouse on the chat forum who is going through something with her hubs, recently deployed.  His "buddies" are filling his head with stories of how "every wife cheats".  This is feeding on baggage he carried from a previous relationship as well, and causing them strain.


It is sad, to me, that our society in general, and the military life in particular, is now seeing infidelity as the "new norm", the expected behaviour, and the people who choose to be loyal are the ones required to prove themselves.  We have become guilty until proven innocent, and have to keep proving ourselves.


This makes me sad, both on a personal level and for society in general.  It also, however, hardens my resolve to prove the stereotype wrong.  And I will continue to stand by my man.  I will prove to him that loyalty does exist, and that he is worth being loyal to.