Augmented Post

Sometimes I have more to say:

Self-development is a higher duty than self-sacrifice. - Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Self-sacrifice is not a duty. Don't let anyone convince you otherwise.

For some act to be a "duty" it must be something which you are obligated to do. You are obligated to not harm other people, or take their property (steal), or otherwise abuse them. These are duties.

You have no duty to marry, join the military, go to church, work for nothing, or anything else. You may choose to do these things because they benefit your life but they certainly are not obligations.

Self-sacrifice is the cornerstone of biblical ethics. According to the Bible it is a "duty" to sacrifice yourself to others. It may be this is the the core reason we have continuously lost Liberty in this country. As soon as you accept self-sacrifice as a duty then you have allowed others to determine what you are required to do. If those making the decision are part of your government, you (and your fellow countrymen) have lost some of your Liberty. If that chunk of Liberty is too large folks will object to the loss. As of yet though, they have not blamed the core responsibility for the attempted action against individual liberty - the idea that self-sacrifice is a duty.