Let’s talk about sacrifice. We’ve been doing a lot of it
lately with so many of us halting our regular, comfortable, predictable lives to
address a global pandemic. Some days I happily and proudly make this sacrifice,
thinking of my many loved ones and acquaintances who would very probably die if
they fell ill with COVID-19. I am happy to let my life be interrupted so that
their lives are not ended. On those days, it is easy to make that sacrifice.
But some days, honestly, some days I am not thinking of them. I am thinking of
my own personal struggles, of everything I am missing and lacking and losing. I
am thinking of how very, very much I want my life back. Those are the days when
the sacrifice is hard, and in terms of the spiritual and social meaning of
sacrifice, those are the days when my sacrifice means the most.
Sacrifice is when you give of your own comfort, resources,
or well-being for the sake of some other. Parents give up so much of themselves
for their children – that is sacrifice. Soldiers and emergency responders
willingly put their lives and physical safety at risk for others’ safety and
freedom – that too is sacrifice. People squirrel away money into savings,
foregoing immediate comforts for the sake of their future self being able to
afford a house or a car or a degree or to repair a broken appliance. That too
is sacrifice in the sense that they are giving up present joy for the sake of
their future selves.
Another type of sacrifice is a little more biblical –
priests standing at an altar with a lamb they will sacrifice to their god(s).
The priest is making a sacrifice – giving of their time and spiritual knowledge
and emotional strength to turn an offering into a divine prayer. The person who
purchased or raised the lamb and brought it to the priest is making a sacrifice
– giving their personal resources over for the sake of their prayer. The lamb
is not making a sacrifice. The lamb is being sacrificed. The lamb did not
choose to be there and it is not choosing to give its life. Rather, its life is
being taken from it for the benefit of others, for the sake of the prayer.
When God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac, Abraham
was being asked to physically and purposefully kill his son. This was indeed an
enormous sacrifice to ask – destroy this person you love, know that you will
grieve and suffer while and after doing so. This was a test of Abraham’s faith,
of his willingness to give anything to God, even the life of his beloved son. This
was not a test of faith for Isaac. Isaac wasn’t asked to give his life. Isaac
wasn’t asked anything. His life was to be taken from him by no choice of his
own. Isaac was to be the sacrifice. Isaac was to be slaughtered. The sacrifice
would have been Abraham’s alone, with Isaac no more than a casualty.
To be clear, it is not always sacrifice to be willing to
kill or to let others die. People die across the world every minute of every
day, and it is exceedingly rare that I a) even know about it or b) can
personally actively do anything to stop it from happening. Those are not
sacrifices to me. They are not really anything to me at all.
There are terribly bad people in the world, horrific
dictators and war lords. When I hear of their deaths, I am not hurt by that – I
give nothing of my heart or soul to mourning them. My country may have had a
hand in their deaths. I may have petitioned for my government to intervene. The
soldiers taking part in those operations may be sacrificing, but me? I give
nothing and I experience no harm from their deaths. Those are not sacrifices to
me. Their deaths may even be benefits to me if they result in a safer world.
Which brings me to this week’s viral image of a protester
holding a sign that says, “Sacrifice the Weak.”
This person is not actually
talking about sacrifice. They are not giving of themselves for the benefits
they seek. There is no sacrifice that they are making. And nor would the people
who would be forced back to work be making a sacrifice. As has been widely
reported, these poor workers would not have the luxury of choosing whether to
continue social distancing or to go back to work because they will no longer be eligible for unemployment. They will have to go back to work, even if it is
harmful to them or their families. If it is not a choice, it is not a
sacrifice. When something is taken from you – in this case, your ability to
maintain social distance for the health and well-being of yourself and your
family members – it is not sacrifice, it is loss. It is theft.
These so-called “weak” are not even the sacrifice. They are not
Isaac, because Abraham suffered greatly at the prospect of killing his son.
They would be Isaac if the people calling for the economy to reopen were
staffing the bowling alleys and hair salons and restaurants with their parents
and grandparents, and others of their own much-loved, vulnerable family members.
Nor are they the lambs on the altar, because the lambs were somebody’s resource
that they gave away at a personal cost to themselves. They would be lambs if it
were the wealth of wealthy people and corporations distributed to the care of
our society – giving away their millions and billions at a personal cost to
themselves solely for the benefit of others.
“Sacrifice the Weak” is an entirely false statement. There
is nothing true about it. It is not a sacrifice. The people they are putting in
harm’s way are not weak, at least, no weaker than anyone else in terms of their
vulnerability to this virus. If all things were equal, it would indiscriminately
and equally kill poor people or middle class people or wealthy people.
Increasing the exposure of poor people means more poor people will die, not
because they are weak, but because some are not willing to make any sacrifice
to keep them safe.
What “Sacrifice the Weak” actually means is “I Am Willing To
Take The Health, Lives, And Freedom Of Choice From Others So That I No Longer Have
To Sacrifice My Comfort For The Greater Good.”
That is not sacrifice. It is not noble. And it is not moral.
There is no high ground in demanding others to suffer for your comfort. And I
am not asking you to sacrifice your freedom for my fear. I am asking you to
sacrifice your comfort for the thing my fear is based on – the reality of this
pandemic. Because oddly enough, this sacrifice doesn’t take away my fear of the
pandemic. The only thing that will end my fear is the passage of this pandemic
into the annals of history, long after we have stopped being called to make
this sacrifice.
