national service, the meaning of sacrifice

the starting pay of a national serviceman is $350. how much would a young national serviceman have sacrificed for the country just on monetary term alone? any young man would be able to get a job for about $750. a A level student would be able to start with $800. a poly grad would easily start at $1,000. these young men would stand to lose between $400 to $650 a month. assuming the same figures for two and a half years, the amount of monetary sacrifice will be $12,000 to $19,500. then there are the lost of two and a half years of working experience or time to acquire commercial skills, and the annual in camp training till the age of 45 or 50 which will disrupt their family and working life. a male citizen will have to contribute that much to the nation. what has the nation got to repay them for such a great sacrifice? the politicians claimed that it is a big sacrifice for standing for public office and were handsomely compensated, some to the tune of more than $100,000 a month. compare this with $350 a month for a nsman. i think everyone will volunteer to 'sacrifice' themselves to be a politician. the meaning of sacrifice is different at different level. and nsmen took it in their stride. no complains. but the politicians are giving the picture that they are not getting good value for their sacrifices to serve the nation. and some even hint of quitting as they can get better returns in the private sector. rightly they should quit to join the private sector which would probably pay them a smaller peanut.