The Self Deception of Sacrifice

At the core of everything, we desire purpose. We are inspired by stories of the past- when revolutions occurred for the better and a people rose up to do “good,” often going against the grain of culture and often at great sacrifice to their own reputation. That sort of rebellion was not built around an identity, or a desire for self worth, but instead, entirely a selfless act. It was “look at this thing that is wrong,” rather than “look at me.” It was “this will cost me,” not “this will help me.” Cost means that you’d have to increase your value in some way to the community at large so that you’d be able to give if the time came. Maybe it’s your time, (which is inherently valuable because of the value of life) but the sacrifice would come in that you were authentically trading one thing for the other. If you had no responsibilities, the trade would not be quite as steep. A child trades their time to go to school, but in this way they are not sacrificing their time. They are receiving more than they are “giving.” They attend school and receive an education. The alternative is that they stay at home, perhaps remain ignorant of the world, and the cost in reverse would be a burden to future generations. The question would be, “what is the cost?” and that would determine the sacrifice. The opposing question would be, “what is there to gain?” and that would determine whether there was any tinge of virtue in the supposed act of kindness and selflessness. If there is more to gain than there is to lose, then no matter the facade, the scales of Lady Justice would easily tip towards selfishness. Our eyes can be deceiving. Sometimes, it is better to close them to reveal the truth.