05-06-2021, 06:41 AM
Could Ra then have used a better term than 'service'? No, because it's an excellent term for describing the current mainstream society. It makes a clear distinction between service-to-self and service-to-others relevant to our current situation. It's only from a future perspective that the term service starts to seem dubious. Imagine the technology available to advanced civilizations. That kind of technology, indistinguishable from magic, can do all the service we want.
Service as self-sacrifice is actually generally bad, since the self is a part of the whole and neglecting or disregarding the self is dysfunctional. This is illustrated in the Star Wars movies where the Sith are service-to-self, they care only about themselves, while the Jedi are selfless, they care only about others. Neither the Sith nor the Jedi have the balance of the Force (STO in an SMC sense).
Service as self-sacrifice is actually generally bad, since the self is a part of the whole and neglecting or disregarding the self is dysfunctional. This is illustrated in the Star Wars movies where the Sith are service-to-self, they care only about themselves, while the Jedi are selfless, they care only about others. Neither the Sith nor the Jedi have the balance of the Force (STO in an SMC sense).