"Take One for the Team"

The act of someone willingly making a sacrifice for the benefit of others.

That’s what it means, taking one for the team.  Willingly making a sacrifice to benefit others or one other if your team consists of the minimum requirement for a team.  The phrase has come into the forefront of the news lately with GOP candidate Rick Santorum saying he “took one for the team” in his decision to vote for something that he did not believe in.  His defense, “You know politics is a team sport folks”.  I’ve got news for you, Buddy,  IT’S ALL A TEAM SPORT!!!!!!  Yep, everything we do is a team sport (unless you truly ARE the only person on the planet!)  Every decision we make, every compromise, every sacrifice, every magnanimous gesture, every selfish act… involves someone else.  Our young men and women go off to fight wars.  No one wants to be told what to wear, what to eat, go to some God forsaken country and try not to be killed.  They take one for the team, us, the people who live in the United States.  We could call it a compromise.  They are provided with food, shelter, clothing, pensions, in exchange for the possibility of losing their lives…. No wait… that’s not a compromise.  That is a sacrifice.  They definitely “take one for the team” and I thank you men and women of the military for the sacrifices you make for us.

But I want to talk about something on a much more personal level, relationships.  I’ve heard the secret to a lasting relationship is compromise.  Hell, I’ve even said it myself!  But that’s not what I really mean.  I mean someone’s always going to have to take one for the team.  And “taking one for the team is not a compromise; it’s a sacrifice, for the benefit of the team.  A compromise is a settlement of differences by a mutual agreement.  So let’s say I want pasta, you want steak, we have chicken.  I’m not getting what I want, you’re not getting what you want but chicken is ok.  Oh, we can live alone and make most of our personal decisions but we still have to work within our team of co-workers, or neighbors, or family.   Eventually, most of us need to interact on a more intimate level.  That’s when we say things like “I love baseball, (when we don’t), spicy food (which gives us heartburn) and kittens (as long as they stay the hell off my lap!).  We say these things to indicate that we are willing to alter our preferences to build a team. Ultimately, as much as we want to do our own thing ALL the time, it will require some sort of sacrifice to get what we really want, companionship.  It’s not that much fun to get through this old world all by ourselves and that means that sometime, you’re going to do something that you really don’t want to do to insure that the team stays whole.  Just make sure that your team is willing to take one for you.    What is the most outrageous thing you have done to keep your team?