# Is It Worth Dying For? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 6, 2010, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-worth-dying-for/556235 "2010-10-06T11:34:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2010, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-worth-dying-for/556235/61 "2010-10-09T11:54:47Z")
> [@Mince](#): > > No my friend; the basal human instinct for self-preservation is precisely what sustains our species. Not if that instinct for self-preservation extends to a willingness to murder innocent people to sustain yourself. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2010, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-worth-dying-for/556235/62 "2010-10-09T14:22:10Z")
> [@Mince](#): > > > [@Curtis LeMay](#): > > > > You’re individually speaking a worse threat to the survival of humanity than Adolf Hitler or Josef Stalin. > > No my friend; the basal human instinct for self-preservation is precisely what sustains our species. But he’s saying at the extent of everyone else on the planet. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2010, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-worth-dying-for/556235/63 "2010-10-09T17:35:29Z")
> [@statsman1982](#): > > > [@Gustav](#): > > > > I’d sacrifice my entire family tree without a second’s hesitation, if it was my only option to save myself. I’d wipe out every living being on the planet. > > Well, once you’ve killed everyone on the planet, I hope you never need a new pair of glasses. Ha! My thought was, “Gee, that sure sounds lonely.” I can’t think of who I’d honestly, if I were actually put in the situation, die for. Two, maybe three people? Maybe. > [@Curtis LeMay](#): > > Anyways I’d die for anything that would produce more benefit than otherwise if I wouldn’t die for. You’re full of it. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2010, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-worth-dying-for/556235/64 "2010-10-09T18:12:02Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > > [@Chefguy](#): > > > > There are so many things wrong with that sentence, I don’t even know where to begin to rebut it. > > I don’t find the situation depressing to the point of suicide as **Mince** pointed out. I’m saying that there is something depressing in not having a belief or cause or even a loved one that you would be willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for. It denotes a certain shallowness in one’s life. How so? Self-preservation is the strongest motivator among all living creatures (except, perhaps, for those wacky lemurs). Wishing that there was something you would die for is contrary to every survival instinct that has been bred in you since your primordial ancestor crawled out of the ooze. To die for a cause or belief is to trivialize your life for the sake of someone else’s belief system. When somebody dies protecting a loved one, it’s usually incidental to the situation. Nobody ever _consciously_ says: “okay, now I’m going to sacrifice my life for Doris because I love her.” What usually happens is that somebody will run back into a burning building or jump into a freezing lake in a foolish attempt to save somebody, not thinking that they will likely become a victim in the process. While they may be _risking_ their lives, they are not _sacrificing_ their lives. ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2010, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-worth-dying-for/556235/65 "2010-10-09T23:46:47Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > \ While they may be _risking_ their lives, they are not _sacrificing_ their lives. I completely and totally agree. If you would run back into a burning building to potentially save a loved one is a completely different animal to willingly sacrificing your life to save someone else. Would you give up your heart if your SO needed a transplant? To make a conscious decision to die in an effort to save someone is not something that could easily be done. ---
**Author:** ![Kilmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a6a055/32.png) [@Kilmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilmore)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2010, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-worth-dying-for/556235/66 "2010-10-10T01:03:47Z")
I’d die trying to get help, because I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to handle things myself. ---
**Author:** ![Dcypher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@Dcypher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dcypher)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2010, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-worth-dying-for/556235/67 "2010-10-11T18:36:42Z")
From my experiences, considered and thoughtful answers are pointless. When those moments come, it is not like there is a giant neon sign that announces what is going to happen. I have gotten myself into situations for others in which I didn’t hesitate to act; nor did I hesitate to think. Only afterwards do you realize, oh, I could have been killed. I have never been in a situation where it was a given that you were going to die, it was merely a possibility. Earlier this week, a man in the town I live in was killed for hassling two kids that were burglarizing cars. Evidently, he acted in the unofficial capacity of taking care of people at his apartment complex. When he began his interaction with the kids, I doubt it occurred to him that his life was on the line and by the time he knew his life was on the line, it was probably too late to do anything except be killed. When I think about it, I have to wonder if it is heroic to die saving a couple of your neighbors crappy CDs, some change and maybe a car stereo. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-worth-dying-for/556235.md?page=3)