When I was a teen-ager, there was a Roman Catholic college that I wanted to attend to study nursing. In those days, I idolized martyrs and people who sacrificed for others. I often had flights of the imagination in which I became one of them. In these daydream sequences, there were always certain elements of martyrdom, such as purity of heart and tears. Maybe I was a silly kid.
I still think sacrifice for others is very, very important. But I don't think a human system can exist solely on mutual help alone. That's because individuals are best positioned to look out for their own interests, and their ability to do so is diminished when all self-help is crudely categorized as selfishness. In any case, when I look back from this age, the degree and intensity with which I thought about martyrdom and sacrifice as a teen-ager seems a little unhealthy. Also, serving others with practicality and wisdom means surviving to serve again another day!
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