Loyalty.

Day 60. Loyalty.

As a Sons of Anarchy fan, I've learned a lot about loyalty from the show. My thoughts the other day about being true to yourself just reinforces what I think about being loyal when I think about the allegiances portayed by the characters on that show.

Loosely based on the great Shakespearean play Hamlet, the characters in Sons share the same fatal flaws as the troubled family in Hamlet. Saddest of all is Opie. The name being similar to Ophelia isn't lost on fans of either Shakespear or Kurt Sutter. They both loved their father and were loyal to him more than anyone knew. Both gave their lives after losing their way after their father's death, yet reamining loyal to their best friend.

Jax is of course, Halmet. Son of one King, stepson of another, he fights an internal battle. After reading his father's journal, and hearing a twisted version of the truth from his month, Jax tries to stay loyal to what he thinks his father would've wanted without killing the stepfather that's ruining everything around him. Likewise, Hamlet passed on killing Claudious while plotting revenge.

The Rosenkrantz and Guildenstern are well disguised in both play and television. The Nomads and a former Nomad Frankie Diamonds get used by Clay to disrupt Jax taking over the club. Hamlet had to battle internal betrayals that broke his heart.

Gravediggers often provide a bit of comedy for those they are loyal to, and in SoA we had Half Sack and Chuckie. They both proved their loyalty many times along the way, while allowing themselves to be the butt of the jokes among the club. The gravediggers in Hamlet knew the final truths of what happened.

Gemma of course, is the Queen of Denmark. Hoping to keep herself at the top of the heap, her betrayals are the loudest of all. She betrays her first husband, throws her second husband under the bus when blamed for the death of the first. You would think she's being loyal to her son, but she's only looking out for herself.

Lots of loyalty in Hamlet, lots of loyalty in Sons of Anarchy. But when you think about it, they both show us what Richard Bach said in Illusions, only Shakespear used less words: To thine own self, be true.

Lesson Sixty: All around us, our life is filled with people who seem to be loyal. Can you predict the end of where their loyalts goes? Do you know how far you can trust those around you? Think about how people fail each other every day, and try to limit the damage as you protect yourself.

680 to go...