![]() ![]() Maybe this war was inevitable maybe there was no way to avoid it but you want it to be holy, and it’s not. . . Volovodov: “You’re carrying a burden I’m not going to lighten it for you. Volovodov: “Sacrifice literally means ‘to make sacred.’ Do you think that’s what’s going on here?” However, the pastor will have none of it: ![]() He is attempting to sublimate his political and military calculations into a kind of secular piety by reframing them in terms of sacrifice. Grasping for some sense of justification, he brings forward the idea of sacrifice, which (as we’ve seen in prior posts) is the modern universal tool for rationalizing loss and violence. He is consumed with fear, and without revealing the secret plans, he seeks comfort and guidance from his spiritual advisor, by means of this pretense of proposing a speech to address the fears of the public. The Secretary-General’s mind is taken up with the risk of large-scale death and destruction possible if he makes the wrong decision about the proposed preemptive strike. The necessity of hard choices, of sacrifice.” Volovodov: “You mean the choices you have to make.” We should feel something other than fear-of it, of each other, of the difficult choices we sometimes have to make.” Sorrento-Gillis: “We are witnessing the greatest event in human history. Sorrento-Gillis: “What if, instead, the focus was on defying fear?” ![]() As his mind revolves around his grave dilemma, he suggests changing the theme of the speech completely: He glances at it, offering some weak praise, but in his present state of preoccupation, his focus is elsewhere. Volovodov shows the Secretary-General a speech she has been drafting for him, which is unrelated to the momentous decision he now faces (she is unaware of the proposed preemptive strike). He trusts her and values her spiritual perspective and ability to speak frankly to him. Although she long ago left politics to pursue a career of helping others as a Methodist pastor, he has called her in to help with communications strategy in the midst of this crisis. While his mind is in the grips of this dilemma, Sorrento-Gillis leaves the war room and goes to his office to consult with Anna Volovodov, a friend who advised him during the early days of his political career. Secretary-General Esteban Sorrento-Gillis-is being urged by some of his advisors to launch a preemptive strike against Mars, while others warn him that this might backfire and prompt Mars to retaliate with a devastating attack on Earth. In the lead up to this scene, the planetary governments of Earth and Mars are caught in a rapidly escalating spiral of violence. In particular, the rhetoric of sacrifice can be used to glorify war and thus justify the gruesome cost of political decisions.Īn example of this is found in a scene from the sci-fi series The Expanse, season 3, episode 3 (“Assured Destruction”). However, like everything in this world, it can also be turned to darker purposes. Secretary-General Sorrento-Gillis and Anna Volovodov in The Expanse, season 3, episode 3, “Assured Destruction” (Expanding Universe Productions, 2017)Īlthough far removed from the ancient reality of sacrifice, the modern idea of a soldier’s sacrifice for his or her country can be a beautiful testament to courage, self-denial, and love of others. ![]()
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