What is the role of sacrifice in modern culture?
Modern cultures claim to have seen the moral pitfalls of ancient sacrifice, as explained in the previous question-and-answer, but we have not turned away from it. Indeed, we practice sacrifice today, with some modern-day forms as violent as ancient sacrifice. Modern sacrifice can be as “innocent” as gossip or as destructive as torture and war. Gossip allows for at least two people to gain a stronger bond at the expense of another person. Torture is often perpetrated to extract secret information and wars waged to increase patriotism, both at the expense of another country that is a perceived threat. To start a war, accusations are made against another country (the accusations may be true, or they may be false) until a patriotic frenzy is achieved and war becomes a moral duty for the citizens of the country. For a moment, most, if not all citizens are united in their belief that they and their country are good, while the other country is bad. Thus, patriotic zeal and support for politic
