wlotus | Ayn Rand on the Popular Usage of the Word "Sacrifice"

The word that has destroyed you is 'sacrifice'....

'Sacrifice' does not mean the rejection of the worthless, but of the precious. 'Sacrifice' does not mean the rejection of the evil for the sake of the good, but of the good for the sake of the evil. 'Sacrifice' is the surrender of that which you value in favor of that which you don't.

If you exchange a penny for a dollar, it is not a sacrifice; if you exchange a dollar for a penny, it is. If you achieve a career you wanted, after years of struggle, it is not a sacrifice; if you then renounce it for the sake of a rival, it is. If you own a bottle of milk and give it to your starving child, it is not a sacrifice; if you give it to your neighbor's child and let your own die, it is.

If you give money to help a friend, it is not a sacrifice; if you give it to a worthless stranger, it is. If you give your friend a sum you can afford, it is not a sacrifice; if you give him money at the cost of your own discomfort, it is only a partial virtue, according to this sort of moral standard; if you give him money at the cost of disaster to yourself--that is the virtue of sacrifice in full.

From Galt's speech in Atlas Shrugged.

Yes, I am slowly working my way through that immense speech; I am 20 pages in, with 30 more to go. I applaud my persistence. I also applaud Rand's examples of "sacrifice". She seemed to believe that while it is fine to help others, it is not fine to help others at the cost of your own needs and the needs of your loved ones. Since I have been on the receiving end of guilt trips which would beg to differ, I completely agree with her.