Is Self-Sacrifice Being Replaced by a Sense of Entitlement in American Culture?

Americans embraced self-sacrifice as a vital component of its culture throughout its history. Self-sacrifice is one characteristic that defines American culture along with self-sufficient, self-reliant, independent, innovative, pioneering, liberty, and individualism. There is an irony that American culture focuses on the individual, yet self-sacrifice helps define moments in U.S. history.

During World War II, supplies such as gasoline, butter, canned milk, and sugar were rationed so they could be provided for the war effort. Many people got three gallons of gas a week. The people here were standing in line for sugar, the first and last commodity that was rationed. The allocation was half a pound a week, half of what Americans typically consumed. Rationing gasoline and other fuels kept energy-hungry tanks and battleships running. The first nonfood item rationed was rubber. The U.S. Treasury offered a series of war bonds citizens could purchase to invest in the country and, ideally, one’s own financial future. A $25 war bond could be purchased for $18.75. People gave up one’s own interests or wishes in order to help others advance a cause.

Despite the many problems of martial language designed to promote the community over the individual, World War I and the 1918 pandemic showed that such celebration of sacrifice can be inspiring. It can help to make more concrete the dangerous threats that loom and illuminate the best paths forward to conquer them.

My father and his family exemplify the paradox between self-interest and self-sacrifice. Al was born in 1924 and grew up during the depression. His parents immigrated to the U.S. to avoid persecution and embrace the American dream. Despite graduating near the top of his class in high school, he was too poor to go to college. His father had died when he was a teenager, so he and his brother joined the army prior to WWII. They sent their pay home to their widowed mother. Al served in the 3rd army under Patton. After the war, he married and raised a family. He was a butcher and a Teamster. He worked twelve hours a day, six days a week to provide a lower middle-class environment for his family. His life was a construct of self-sufficiency and self-sacrifice.

What happened?

Americans who were born to and have remained in high-class backgrounds not only enjoy the perks of privilege more than other groups, but they also feel a far greater sense of “entitlement” than those who’ve worked their way up the social class ladder, those who have moved down it, or those who have been born to and remained in lower social class positions.

And this is problematic because entitlement is characterized by a lack of altruism and a sense of community. Entitled people tend to be far more self-serving in their actions and decisions than others. They have less interest in the common good.

We have seen a shift from gratitude to entitlement amongst virtually all ethnicities in this country, but only after we become accustomed to the simplicity of life here. The truth is we are all incredibly privileged to be United States citizens.

Social Media has provided a platform for people to lash out in anonymity and with impunity without regard to consequences. It appeals to the narcissistic side of our psyche and, indeed makes individuals more narcissistic. The sense of neighborhood is disappearing. Most people do not know many of their neighborhoods. We, as a culture, area losing accountability for each other. (Accountability is not simply taking the blame when something goes wrong. It’s not a confession. Accountability is about delivering on a commitment. It’s responsibility to an outcome, not just a set of tasks. It’s taking initiative with thoughtful, strategic follow-through.)

The loss of neighborhood, the impact of social media, the lack of accountability and an abandonment of facing consequences, coupled the perks of privilege has made individuals turn inward. Self-sacrifice has been replaced by “entitlement.”

The challenges the nation now faces are dire and require sacrifice. The U.S. (and the world) face wars, fossil fuel consumption, global warming, sex-trafficking, looming public health issues and regional political, economic, and religious conflict. These issues are exacerbated by many of our leaders who tap into this sense of entitlement and narcissism and discourage our citizens from making sacrifices in support of the greater good. Confronting these challenges requires a wholesale change in how citizens and the state conceive and construct a rhetoric as well as a practice of collective sacrifice.