Is Sacrifice a Bad Word
Why the word bothers me
The word sacrifice should be banned from public discourse. To be fair, the word may not be completely obliterated from the English lexicon and as the lingua franca of the people. I know banning a word fully may not be possible, but at least whenever the word is used, it should be frowned upon and looked at with suspicion.
But why am I saying this? Before we go further, let me give you some perspective.
What Does Sacrifice Mean
A simple search on the internet throws up varied meanings of the word. The most popular meanings are related to religion; the act of giving up something valuable, to appease gods, or to get brownie points in religious activities. Other meanings are related to personal issues like giving up something valuable, material, or otherwise, for the sake of other considerations, which may be distant, yet a coveted possibility.
Whatever the meaning one prefers to choose, the word presupposes a pain, a reluctance of letting go of something valuable, for a cause that will bestow something coveted, in the future, near or far. Yet it is done, despite the assumed pain, as the coveted thing is more important than the pain of sacrifice.
Why I Have Objection
Whether we accept it or not, ultimately, all actions that we term as sacrifices are transactional. Like any other human behavior, it is the act of giving up something to get something else in return that may not be easily available by normal means. In any transaction, one usually lets go of those things which are less valuable to him for something, which are more valuable to him, and which he does not have.
Every individual has different views and standards towards what they like more and like less. Individual opinions vary on what is dear to him and what is not. So, it is a person’s subjective standards that one has to deal with when one considers an act to be a sacrifice. Of course, this by no means takes away the fact that one is willing to let go of something precious.
What most of us ignore, or forget to take cognizance of, when we say or talk about someone’s act as a sacrifice for something which is a distant possibility, is that what he is sacrificing may not be as important to him as it is to us. Our standard or views on what one is sacrificing may be different, being too dear to us to let go, but may not be too important for him to retain. And hence as witnesses to that act, we talk highly of that act as a sacrifice.
An Example
Let us consider an example.
When Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi sacrificed European attire and the ways of life to take up just loincloth and went bear-bodied to lead Indian masses, breaking normal upper-class Congress leaders’ conventions, his act may seem to be a lot of sacrifice from his part to most of us. But, in my point of view for Gandhiji, it is like a transaction in which he let go of European ways and attire that gave him a better bargain by making him acceptable to the Indian masses, thereby having total control over Indian political mind space.
Of course, it does not mean, in any way I am belittling his choice of life to support his political and life’s convictions. My point is, if you look at the choice he made, for him, it was not a sacrifice, on the contrary, it was just a transaction necessary to gain mass support. But we consider the act as a sacrifice as, for most of us, choosing that kind of lifestyle would entail a lot of pain.
I am taking the example of M K Gandhi not for any particular motive, political or otherwise. There is no taking away the fact of his contribution to Indian political thought and Indian independence from colonial power. I have taken his name as an example, as he is one of the easiest recognizable personalities in recent Indian history.
From the point of view of the person whose act seems to be a sacrifice to others, the person may not consider that act as a sacrifice at all.
What Is Obnoxious About the Word?
The word sacrifice is now a much used and highly abused word. We encounter its use in most unlikely places and contexts in our daily social discourse. So much so, that this has become a common convention for every man jack to announce at the top of his voice, how he has and still is sacrificing for the beloved country, society, organization, or any other entity that he considers himself to be part of. Even a mother nowadays laments how she has sacrificed herself for her now wayward offspring! It is high time someone reminds them that no one asked them to do that act in the first place, that they want to term as a sacrifice.
Most often I find that people try to gather brownie points by doing an act, which in any case they are supposed to do, and tomtom it to be a sacrifice. And surprisingly enough, they become most successful in making everyone think that their act is a big sacrifice committed by them. The more privileged a person is, the more he shouts, how he is sacrificing for a deed, which in any case, he is supposed to be doing, in his normal course of duty, and also most probably he is getting handsomely paid for that.
A Real-Life Story
We have a chimney and a hob in our kitchen. To maintain them, we have an AMC with a company based in Sodhpur. The company is based in the northern suburb of Kolkata, while I am situated in the southwestern suburb of Kolkata – a distance of more than 25 kilometers, as the crow flies.
Once every quarter a technician comes to our house, with a prior appointment, to clean the gadgets in the kitchen. Before the pandemic induced lockdown, when local trains were available, traveling such long distances every day was not a problem. Though local trains have started operating after re-opening, a lot of daily local train commuters, prudently, are avoiding traveling by train and using their own transport for their daily commute, in this case, a bicycle.
Now that I am in the house mostly, I was lucky enough to be chatting with him when he visited us recently for his periodic maintenance job. He is now traveling every day from Sodhpur to the southern part of Kolkata, a distance of 25 kilometers or more, where most of his customer base are, by bicycle. He is doing this, days in and days out, without any complain, to retain his livelihood, in a difficult time.
I am sure this effort will never be considered a sacrifice! Why should it be? Here is someone, from the lowest rung of urban society, serving a person who is just a few rungs above him, to keep his job and thereby trying to make his two ends meet. These kinds of persons do not have any social security, no health benefits, no long-time career prospects, and no retirement benefits. Yet, as they do not have a big mouth, their efforts remain unsung and unrecognized.
A Contrasting Picture
Contrast this with those people, who mostly talk about their sacrifice for an act that they are duty-bound to do.
One cannot just stumble on a government job, especially jobs in bureaucracy, defense, police, or railways, just to name a few. There are stringent entry criteria that one has to fulfill to get the coveted job in any of these departments. So unless one is really motivated and takes prior training, chances are, he will never be qualified to get the job.
Yet a lot of young men go through rigorous training in the hope of getting these coveted jobs. Why? Because these jobs give them social benefits, prestige, financial security, privileged life, and a lot more. Unfortunately and surprisingly, this is the group that is most vocal about their sacrifice for what they are doing which they are in any case suppose to do and have opted to do. And surprisingly, our media have made their own agenda to tomtom these groups’ voices out of proportion. No one reminds them that they have opted for this career choice themselves. I am not taking away the fact that they may be away from their families on the line of duty in a difficult situation, braving a harsh climate and living and working conditions. But when they opted for the service, they knew very well that these conditions are a possibility. Now, it is unfair to ask for sympathies.
While Concluding
I would consider an act a sacrifice when there are no transactions involved. When there is no expectation against an act done, it can truly be called sacrifice. Even when one gives alms or donations, it cannot be termed as a sacrifice as there is an expectation of acknowledgment and satisfaction of ego that giving entails.
But are there any truly non-transactional acts in human society?