Sacrifice

by Kate Brandl, honors Comp hour 9

From the ritual slaughters of animals in Biblical times to sacrifice hits across America’s baseball fields, our society remains filled with examples of how we forfeit what we have in pursuit of what we desire. Our world never existed without the presence of sacrifice. And in this day and age, the word sacrifice soon began to be synonymous with the implications of war and heroics. But what really constitutes a sacrifice? Any dictionary will supply many definitions explaining the concept, and the televised drama of the daily news will lead you to extreme examples. Yet the idea of a sacrifice runs deeper than simple dictionary definitions and reaches beyond our drastic cases.

Sacrifice is always based upon a value judgment. Before we make a sacrifice, we must decide upon our priorities, enabling us to determine what is worth sacrificing and what we hope to gain. Humanity’s acts of sacrifice illustrate these priorities more vividly than anything else. Without a sense of priority, no sacrifices would occur. “America the Beautiful” gives an example of this through the lines: “O beautiful for heroes proved / In liberating strife./ Who more than self the country loved, /And mercy more than life!” It is clear that a person who loves their country to this extent will be willing to lay their lives on the line for their nation’s sake. The willingness to sacrifice something depends on how much that person values what they have. A person’s own paradigms and values determine the nature of their sacrifices.

True sacrifice is also behavior bringing fulfillment and satisfaction to its doer. If the outcome of your sacrifice does not bring you satisfaction, it was not a sacrifice at all, but rather the fulfillment of an obligation. You may give up your safety and security to serve in the military. If you truly value your country more than your own existence, this is a sacrifice – it comes from the soul and will bring you fulfillment. If not, this is an obligation - you are driven by necessity, by another person or by an ulterior motive. True sacrifice is never executed for reasons other than those of the heart.

When a sacrifice is made, you offer up what you posses with open hands. And with this offering you aim to purchase something greater. Throughout history countries have bought their own freedom with the bloodshed of their citizens and the tumult of war. This is indeed a sacrifice. Every day, we make sacrifices that are less grand, but just as genuine. We earn our academic successes by offering up our leisure time, we maintain our rights by living up to our responsibilities. We can spend what we own in hopes of receiving a greater reward. When you sacrifice something in this way, you come to terms with the realization that you are at risk of loss, that you are vulnerable. People endanger their safety crusading for causes that may never be taken seriously by the government, but they know that what they do is worth it. This is sacrifice - the acknowledgment of vulnerability, and willingness to accept loss for the sake of having a chance at something better.

The essence of sacrifice remains the same despite the circumstances. To sacrifice is to risk and to hope, to take a step and know that even if you fall it was worth it to advance toward what you desire. As we change, we sacrifice. We sacrifice what we are for what we hope to grow into, with each step we take we sacrifice our firm ground for uncertain terrain. Without sacrifice, our society would remain primitive. We would boast of no heroics, no advancement. We could never exchange the familiar labor for the unknown invention, we could never replace the known leaders with candidates we don’t recognize. Life requires risk and change and sacrifice - sacrifice is necessary. And with value judgment, fulfillment, and vulnerability, our sacrifices are complete.