The thing about loyalties is that we never have just one of them—our obligations are layered, and occasionally in conflict with each other. We are loyal to friends, but we also owe loyalty to our family, whom we have to provide for. We are loyal to someone for whom we’ve worked for a long time, but we also owe a loyalty to our work, to our cause, which is at risk of being jeopardized. Acheson’s duty to his friend was real, but did he not also have obligations to his office, which represented his country? To Truman, at whose pleasure he served?
