Against Sacrifice

(Presented to the Lawrentian and the Post-Crescent )

Sitting at my table in the foyer of Lawrence University's Downer commons during Earth Week, I was disheartened (though not surprised) to observe Lawrentians performing a curious ritual:

"Hey (passer-by's name), come sign our petition!"

"Sure, (petitioners name)! What am I signing for?"

The petitioner would proceed to explain that the signatures were those of students who had pledged to live their lives in fashions consistent with something called "social responsibility". Who could argue with such a goal? Who could pass up a petition so seemingly well-intentioned? What's more, who could hesitate for a second before deciding to sign such a pledge in order to question the necessity of doing so? Apparently, not too many Lawrentians.

In such an intellectual climate, there is little wonder that the Presidents' Summit for America's Future held in Philadelphia last week passed largely unnoticed. Just as Lawrentians were quick to concede the altruism of the Downer pledge, so too were Americans quick to take the similar ideas of the summit for granted.

The stated intention of the summit was to inculcate a new sense of duty and obligation into American culture. According to the summiteers (Clinton, Bush, Carter, Ford and Colin Powell), each of us owes a duty to others, if for no other reason, then that we exist. This duty is to be expressed in service and sacrifice. As Colin Powell was apt to say, those who serve are on the "moral playing field", while those who do not are on the "moral sidelines".

This altruistic idea behind the summit is immoral. Just as life is the only phenomenon which is an end in itself, so man is an end in himself. His life is his ultimate value. To achieve it, he must engage in a process of rational, productive work. He must rely on his own mind and seek his own vision of the truth. In short, he must live for himself. There is no conceivable reason for which he owes one minute of his life to anyone else, or for which anyone else owes a minute of their life to him.

To rule out all forms of sacrifice is not necessarily to rule out charity or volunteering. There are certain circumstances in which such acts may be entirely appropriate: when such acts are not sacrificial, and when their beneficiaries are in need through no fault of their own. In fact, altruism--the idea that each must sacrifice--is antithetical to genuine benevolence. There is no room for good will among men when each is regarded as a sacrificial animal, as merely the means to the ends of others.

Never mind the fact that productive and selfish young Americans (like Bill Gates or Steve Jobs) have done more to heighten the material well-being of others than a band of street-sweepers could ever hope to--the point is that these young Americans have a right to their own lives.

But the summiteers ignore this fact. Rather than allow American youth the freedom to live their own lives and achieve their own values, they would have youth serve. Rather than have youth study hard and advance their own careers, they would have youth work in soup kitchens. Rather than have youth learn math, science or art, they would have youth busy themselves cleaning graffiti from the walls of inner cities.

And this was precisely what I saw when I protested Clinton's summit with the Coalition of Students Against Servitude last weekend. On Germantown Avenue in Philadelphia, students wearing AmeriCorps uniforms were bussed in for the sakeof sweeping streets that would be strewn with litter the very next day, and painting walls that would shortly be covered by gang graffiti. The long-term results of this project were not important to the summiteers; as long as students went through the sacred motions of service, the moral ideal would be achieved.

I can recall one item from history, in particular, which resembled the spectacle I witnessed in Philadelphia. When I saw uniformed youth rallying in a stadium, when I saw them being incited by military leaders to sacrifice themselves for their country, when I heard the media echoing the government's call to service without critical questioning, when I heard our leaders advocating mandatory service, there was one historical image that reappeared in my mind: Nazi Germany and the Hitler Youth. No, Bill Clinton is not inciting youth to march for the glory of a "superior race". But he is inciting them to march, and for reasons no less sacrificial than those proposed by the Third Reich. And all this from Independence Hall, where our forefathers founded America on the basis of the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

If you agree with me that this summit and its ideas represent a threat to happiness and freedom in America, you are not without a voice. Please visit the homepage of the Campaign Against Servitude at http://www.aynrand.org/no_servitude , where you can sign a petition to be presented to the President on Independence Day. Please rethink the moral premises which you have been raised on--the ethics of altruism. And, for heaven's sake, if you are a Lawrence Student, please don't sign the Downer pledge next year.

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