Living in the World
The Loss of Sacrifice

Waiting for a flight recently I sat next to a fellow who was bemoaning the lack of sacrifice in out society today. He told of his grandmother coming to the USA from Italy as a 16 year old and never seeing her mother and family again. She was seeking a better life at a high price. And, as a result of her willingness to leave kin and hearth, 80 years later her grandson now has a better life. It started me thinking about personal sacrifice, or the lack thereof, today.

It seems that is what is behind the government trying to “bail out” all manner of companies from financial collapse. No one wants to take the pain that is incumbent from failed policies and foolish decisions. As individuals, we have lost the definition of sacrifice in out culture. No one wants to sacrifice anything at anytime for any reason. Period.

The AIG dustup over bonuses magnifies this proposition. While many of the bonuses were based on contractual relationships, the contracts could be modified. Those due the bonuses could have refused them. For many that would not even be a sacrifice. But, for those who were dependent on the bonus for the lion’s share of their compensation, refusing it would be a sacrifice. While there has been a give back because of the backlash, such is not sacrifice because it was not the intent of those receiving the bonuses to sacrifice. They were forced to do so by the government and an angry public.

It is not just from corporate America where the “no sacrifice” mantra comes emanates. I have remarked many times that compared to the rest of the world, all Americans are “wealthy”. Two million people are born, live and die on the streets of Kolkata, India. Imagine that, living you whole life outside any shelter. These are not “homeless” they are “never homed”. In this country we consume far more resources than our population warrants. Yet we grouse when the price of fuel for our automobiles goes up. That is a “sacrifice” we do not wish to make. We want cheap gas! You see, even our sense of sacrifice, what it is, is warped.

Imagine that Italian grandmother leaving all she knew for that which she had no idea what it would turn out to be. Imagine you or me giving up our home and family to go to a place unknown to us to try and make a better life for those to follow us. For many years, we have lived with the idea that we would make circumstances better for our children and grandchildren. Instead, today we are saddling the future generations with back breaking debt because we do not want to have our nice, cozy lifestyle changed or modified in any way. Instead of sacrificing for the future, we want those to come to sacrifice for us. Come to think about it, there is not a loss of sacrifice. We have converted self-sacrifice into shifted sacrifice.