Playing the lottery
When the word community is mentioned, there is a lot that rings in people’s minds. When looking at a significant number of those who live in the cities, this word reminds them of their relatives back in the countryside where it all began. Community activities are significantly embraced in rural areas as compared to urban (Ani et al., 40). This is because in the cities, people are busy working, and they have different backgrounds, which implies that it is difficult for them to have a strong bond. Several issues affect communities, such as poverty, education, infrastructures, and politics, among others. This discussion has primarily focused on the lottery. This is a common type of gambling that involves the selection of numbers at specific prices. Lottery encourages people to pay little amount with the possibility of winning a bigger jackpot. The best thing about this game is that the winners are selected randomly. The case study, which is used in this discussion, is the lottery by Shirley Jackson. This paper has provided several points in support of the lottery.
One thing to support this argument is because lotteries are used to generate money for state-funded projects. According to Shirley, apart from the United States, other nations tend to use lotteries to gather more funds for community projects. In other words, it is the community that gives them money, and in return, they enjoy the services provided by the government and other organizations. Currently, the issue of COVID-19 has become a global threat, and the developing nations are the most affected because their economy is still growing. Most of the humanitarian organizations can use the lottery to encourage people to give donations so that the most affected individuals can get the help they need. This means that organizations and the government can come up with projects that are sponsored by the lottery. People can be encouraged to gamble, and the more they gamble, they increase their chances of winning. This way, money can be collected from the citizens, which can be enough to support the food programs or any other projects. People from the rural areas complain of poor infrastructures, but this problem can be over through the lottery. In other words, the community can be encouraged to play the lottery, and the money collected from them can be used to put up better roads, electricity, water, and other development projects.
Furthermore, technology has brought a lot of changes in gambling and, most specifically, lottery. One of the best things that has happened is that people can play from any place and at any time. In the past, life was difficult because people had to buy the tickets from the shops. This limited the number of participants since some could not remember to buy the tickets. Currently, thanks to technology, which enables the participants to purchase tickets at the comfort of their homes. This has made the lottery more fun with the use of a smartphone or a laptop at anyplace and anytime. People can play while traveling, waiting for a doctor, going back from home as a way of killing time. Another crucial thing about technology is safety. In the past, there were many cases where the winners lost their chances since they could not collect the jackpot on time. Most people kept forgetting to check their numbers until it was too late to collect the prize. This problem is no longer there because playing online enhance record keeping. In other words, all the bets are stores in the participant’s account that cannot be accessed by any other individual. After every draw, the players are informed through text messages or emails, which makes it easier for them to keep checking their bets. The most interesting thing about the lottery is that they are legal since they are licensed by the government. This is to say that the bets are insured to enhance safety.
Additionally, lottery is one way of fighting against poverty. When looking at the communities, one of the biggest problems is poverty (Bradshaw &Sainsbury, 1). Most of the poor people spend their money on basic needs such as food, shelter, and clothing. Most of the children born from low-income family find it difficult to attend school due to a lack of school fees. Those who are lucky enough get to attend the public schools since they are cheaper compared to private. According to research, a significant percentage of those who participate in lottery are from impoverished backgrounds. This is because lottery is the easiest way they can earn a tremendous amount of money. Those who are lucky to win the jackpot change their living conditions entirely because they can live in better houses, their children can attend schools, and they can start their businesses. Thus, a lottery is a good and honest way to end poverty. The majority of those who win, end up having a better life than before because the money boosts them to come out of poverty. Lottery has changed the lives of many people, and that is why the majority of those who bet are the low-income earner hoping to win the jackpot and have a better tomorrow.
On the contrary, some are against this argument since they do not support playing the lottery. According to them, one of their reasons is because lottery is just like any other addictive gambling game. Those who participate in the game can bet using all their money due to a lack of contentment and the desire to win. For those who are very addicted tend to use all their time placing the bets and waiting to see if they can win. Instead of doing something constructive with their time, they spend it gambling. Another reason is that lottery can lead to increased criminal activities and violence. This is one of the major negative issues associated with gambling. When people spend all their money betting and realize that they have not won, they tend to be violent because they feel guilty and wasted. There are those participants who think that they deserve to win and tend to fight back when they lose. More so, lottery encourages theft in the communities because the gamblers need money, and they don’t have a source of income. The only way to get the money is through stealing.
In conclusion, this discussion has provided several points that support lottery. Apart from supporting this argument, there is a paragraph that shows why some people do not support this argument. One of the primary recommendations from this discussion is that the lottery can make people rich or miserable at the same time. The best thing to do is to play it for fun but not with the aim of winning or as a source of income.
Works Cited
Ani, Fauziah, Asnarulkhadi Abu Samah, and Nobaya Ahmad. “Empowerment Approach in Community Development.” Malaysian Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities (MJSSH) 1.1 (2016): 36-44.
The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson (found on Canvas)
“Poverty” by Jonathan Bradshaw