[BDS]

I object to the religious overtones of “sacrifice”. I suppose it makes sense in some respects: we “sacrifice” our comfort and convenience by driving less and keeping our houses at 65 degrees in order to protect the environment for future generations. There is a moral (and "sacrificial") component to that.

However, buying something is not a “sacrifice”. If we decide we want National Health Care, we need not “sacrifice” to get it – we need only pay the money to get what we want, just like we pay money for everything else we want. If the economy goes into the tank because of mismanagement and malfeasance, our resulting hardship is not a “sacrifice”. But the candidates want to suggest that it is because it suggests some sort of moral value to hardship and suffering, which appeals to our Puritan ethos.

The candidates could said, “Under my administration, I will call on the American people to suffer economic hardship, to endure unemployment, and to fight unnecessary wars!” But they don’t. Instead, they call for “sacrifice.” It adds the tinny ring of moral righteousness to the general message of despair and hopelessness (and I thought Obama was all about "hope").