“It only stands to reason that where there’s sacrifice, there’s someone collecting the sacrificial offerings. Where there’s service, there is someone being served. The man who speaks to you of sacrifice is speaking of slaves and masters, and intends to be the master.” (Ayn Rand)
Today, you’ll be asked to celebrate the glory of self-sacrifice. Self-sacrifice, you’ll be told, is the right thing to do–and even good for yourself.
Don’t buy it for a minute.
When politicians demand self-sacrifice, they’re demanding it through the coercion of government; that is to say, through force. If self-sacrifice to the government were that valuable, it would not require force.
Freedom does not require sacrifice. Neither does accepting responsibility for your life. True leaders don’t ask you to give up either of these. True leaders don’t seek power. They seek to return power over your life to you. They don’t “spread the wealth.” They protect your freedom to create your own wealth–material wealth, or otherwise. Government was supposed to be the servant of the people, not the other way around.
Think of all this today, as you hear speeches glorifying precisely the opposite of what a free country is supposed to be.