Sacrifice stands at the center of the Anthropocene. The process of approaching this issue will require wealthy nations, such as the United States, to sacrifice various cultural norms to vastly improve sustainability. Although this act of sacrificing luxuries and excess seems reasonable, it also appears implausible. Such doubt in the nation’s ability to make such adjustments stems from the nation’s deficient understanding of sacrifice.
Exemplified most startlingly through our society’s perception of war, the United States’ was founded on the ideal that the “ultimate sacrifice” entails giving one’s life for the sake of their country during war. While this conception of sacrifice has strong patriotic ties and is undeniably honorable, it also entails a number of dangerous implications for how the United States, as an individualistic nation, can approach the inherently global issue of the Anthropocene.
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As described by Litfin in her essay, a clear distinction lies between a society that perceives sacrifice as a process that enlarges the giver beyond the ordinary sense of self, and a society that views sacrifice as loss. A society that is capable of fostering an appreciation of sacrifice as a method of enrichment rather than material loss is one that will be fundamentally more readily equipped to prioritize the needs of the community. Because the Anthropocene is an issue that is inherently communal, this ability to enrich one’s self by sacrificing for the sake of the larger whole will be imperative if we are to ask individuals to sacrifice for the sake of the Earth.
Thus, by viewing the “ultimate sacrifice” as giving one’s life to the country during war, the United States is fostering a perception of sacrifice that further perpetuates a narrow national perspective, one that is antithetical to the global mindset that will be necessary to approach the Anthropocene.