Claim. What makes someone a filial child, patriot, saint, or divine son/daughter is not status or office but the act of investing more — and forgetting one’s investment — than anyone else at that scope.
Elaboration. SMM defines each role by comparative investment: “Those who live investing their entire life for their parents and then forget what they have invested are called true filial sons and daughters. … if someone aspires to become a loyal subject or patriot in front of the nation’s ruler, he can be called a true patriot when he invests, invests again, even invests his very life, and then forgets what he has invested” (2.2. Perfect the dutiful family way, 263-275 1994.10.15). The role is defined relationally: “If there is a man who invests ten times for his nation and forgets about his investment and a man who invests eleven times and forgets about his investment, the one who has invested and forgotten eleven times is in the subject position” (255-190 1994.3.10). This grounds Pledge 2 in the same investing-and-forgetting mechanism that defines true love — the four roles are simply that mechanism scaled across four levels.
See also. csg-four-roles-ascend-from-filial-child-to-divine-son, csg-true-love-means-investing-and-forgetting