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Bushido Virtue #7 Chugi - Loyalty

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In America today, loyalty can be seen in many forms.   The most blatant example might be avid sports fans.   Even when a beloved team is having a terrible season, a loyal fan will still cheer them on, hope for the best; and even attend games where a loss is expected. When the going in life gets rough, however, do we stay the course?   Do we remain focused on our path and our goals and refuse to allow what’s around us drag us off course?   The last of the traditional Bushido tenets, loyalty, or chugi in Japanese, seems to be the epitomal manifestation of the previous six tenets in a samurai’s life.   Judging from the origins of the word according to Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, its meaning is rooted in “allegiance to the sovereign or established government of one’s country”.   Over time, loyalty has come to embody allegiance to just about anything.   Dictionary.com defines loyalty as “faithfulness to commitments or obligations” and gives fealty, devotion