Waste vs. Sacrifice

[Bullypulpit]

<center><b>waste:</b> to spend or use carelessly</center>

<blockquote>"Americans are very frustrated, and they have every right to be..."We've wasted a lot of our most precious treasure, which is American lives."</blockquote>

Seems that John McCain, made a Freudian slip, saying what he actually thought rather than what the right wing-nut base of the GOP wants to hear which is "Everything is wonderful in Iraq!". In a lame, flat apology, McCain stated that "&#8220;I should have used the word, sacrificed...", so let's look at the word "sacrifice".

<center><b>sacrifice:</b> to suffer loss of, give up, renounce, injure, or destroy especially for an ideal, belief, or end</center>

"Sacrifice" is also appropriate to describe the losses our troops have suffered in Iraq. They have been sacrificed...sacrificed on the bloody altars of this administration's failed foreign policy and the neo-con fantasy of US hegemony in the region.

So yes, Senator McCain is right, our troops have been sacrificed and for no better a cause than the messianic visions of a failed president.

 

[William Joyce]

It's a question of the part of speech. Also, connotation. "Waste" implies done for no good reason, "sacrifice" implies honor.

The soldiers themselves didn't "waste" themselves... they did indeed sacrifice.

The administration is another matter.

The bottom line is that the President and his cabal have sent countless honorable men and women to their deaths to promote an insane war for reasons having nothing to do with America's safety, security and interests. Bush should be impeached for this and other crimes against America.

 

[LOki]

It's a question of the part of speech. Also, connotation. "Waste" implies done for no good reason, "sacrifice" implies honor.

The soldiers themselves didn't "waste" themselves... they did indeed sacrifice.

The administration is another matter.

The bottom line is that the President and his cabal have sent countless honorable men and women to their deaths to promote an insane war for reasons having nothing to do with America's safety, security and interests. Bush should be impeached for this and other crimes against America.

I disagree that "...the President and his cabal have sent countless honorable men and women to their deaths to promote an insane war for reasons having nothing to do with America's safety, security and interests."

I prefer the usage:<blockquote>sacrifice:
1 : to offer as a sacrifice
2 : to suffer loss of, give up, renounce, injure, or destroy especially for an ideal, belief, or end
3 : to sell at a loss</blockquote>Which distinguishes "sacrifice" (where one gives something of higher value for something of lesser value) from "invest", and "risk", where one hopes to gain, rather than lose.

It is possible then to assert that the manner in which US soldiers are being wasted is indeed a sacrifice.

I don't think there's any honor in that.

 

[trobinett]

It's a question of the part of speech. Also, connotation. "Waste" implies done for no good reason, "sacrifice" implies honor.

The soldiers themselves didn't "waste" themselves... they did indeed sacrifice.

The administration is another matter.

The bottom line is that the President and his cabal have sent countless honorable men and women to their deaths to promote an insane war for reasons having nothing to do with America's safety, security and interests. Bush should be impeached for this and other crimes against America.

Opinions vary...............