What a suicide bomber does is not a sacrifice, it is the murder of innocent civilians. If you murder an innocent civilian, it can never, by definition, be a 'sacrifice'.
It is murder to you and me. It is sacrifice in his mind. When I say a suicide bomber sacrifices his life, I am looking at the act from his point of view which differs from others' views.
That's weird. You didn't say that. I am well aware of the fact that it is a sacrifice in his mind. That doesn't change the fact that what it actually is, objectively speaking, is the brutal murder of innocent civilians. It is not 'murder to you and me'. It is murder, full stop. If a hebephrenic schizophrenic smashes his own head into a wall until he loses consciousness, it may be, to him, a way to get the cockroaches out of his sinus cavities. That doesn't change the objective fact; that it is a pathological behaviour. This is the hallmark of PC leftist thinking - that we cannot make a moral judgement about a 'cultural practice' because 'their culture must be respected'. It is a point of view that disavows the process of civilization. There is no objective reality. This started in the Universities in the early '80s with the philosophy of Derrida and others. It is also known as moral relativism. When a tribal 'medicine man' hacks the genitalia off of a 12 year old child in the name of 'culture', he is performing an illegal act. When a bunch of Iranian religious fanatics bury a teenage girl up to her neck and then stone her to death, that is murder, not a 'cultural practice' that must be defended. It may be that to the participants, but that's only because they're brainwashed religious maniacs. Their act is not 'wrong to you and me'. It is wrong, full stop. Ok? Anyhow, my last post on this subject in this thread. Start another one in P & R if you want to discuss this further.
This is neither leftist nor rightist thinking. I disagree with it being "wrong full stop." Right and wrong is subjective. Anyway I've beaten this horse to death and am done with it. I am in no mood to get into a pissing match over this issue. You are entitled to your opinion and I to mine.
Just like you can say oxygen is better than an electron, you can say one level of development is better than another. Politics, religion, et al, is all a matter of people having different paradigms within each individual level of development. Ethnocentric is better than egocentric just like worldcentric is better than ethnocentric. There are cultures that are better than others.
Those who argue for cultural relativism usually do not understand how truly bankrupt their belief is. Carried to its conclusion - they are really supporting the power theory. he who has the power makes the rules.