Allegiance as a Price

We owe a certain amount of allegiance to that which sustains us. Generally, the more we are supported by something, the more we owe. 

To the modern ideal of freedom this is a distasteful relationship, since it reminds us of the Achilles heel in our agency. There is no way to completely liberate ourselves from this kind of dynamic, so we are inevitably trapped by it in some way. There will always be a parent, patron, employer, country, etc. to prop us up. Being conscientious of what we depend on for our livelihood then, becomes necessary if we are to determine where our lives go. For, if we draw from the wrong resource, we may end up paying a higher price than we anticipated. And we’ve all seen enough gangster movies to know that there are offers we can’t refuse when we’re in too deep.