Three men won a multimillion-dollar lottery. It was not just any three men. It was three asset managers, men who both have and earn a great deal of money. Often when the winners claim their lottery winnings, people root for them, especially if they are middle or poorer income earners in our society. We love to root for the underdog, the one who is down on his or her luck.
Something different happened when the three men claimed their lottery winnings. Many people didn’t cheer for the winners. Some made up stories, not based on facts, about their not being the real winners. Some even turned their resentment and disgust towards these men, simply because they were the winners.
What has happened to us as a society that we judge who should and should not win the lottery? Since when do we discriminate against anyone who is lucky enough to win the lottery? Where did we disconnect from the knowledge that anyone in our society is eligible to play the game and anyone who plays can be a winner?
I find that some people during this recession go the extra mile to do something special for those who are less fortunate. These generous people live from abundance, giving what they can to help other people in their communities. A recent media story highlighted college campuses where students collect and provide food for other students who have scholarships to pay for classes, yet cannot afford to eat. The individual and collective good will of students helping those who have less is just that—good will. It is their choice to give. Yet, other people in times of recession focus on scarcity, protecting what they have and lamenting those who have more.
That three men won the lottery is cause for congratulations and a slap on the back. That they may, as has been reported, give the money away is not an entitlement of those who did not win. It is a choice based on the free will and desires of the winners. I hope, if they do choose to give the money away, people acknowledge gratefully their generosity rather than judging the action as the only choice of the winners. Because, after all, they played, they won, it is their money, and it is solely their choice about what to do with the winnings. When I was growing up, the term used to describe those who would not congratulate winners because they themselves did not win, was “sore loser.”
This scenario provided by the winners and others’ reactions offers us a mirror to see who we are becoming as a society and as individuals. The lottery is a game. People play all the time. Some win and some lose. We are all eligible to play. AND we all have the potential—no matter how improbable—to win. I, for one, would rather celebrate winners and remember to be grateful that I live in a society where anyone can play and anyone can win. And someone eventually does, when it comes to the lottery!
