Next we have a detailed survey of the weather, far more than we need or even understand. The high-tech weather ritual invokes technogods to explain and predict what cannot really be controlled. Safe in bed with our barometric lullaby, we commiserate with the victims of storms, floods, and drought. Finally, the news often includes lottery events. Ordinary people overwhelmingly lose, but the games keep going and our irrational hopes stay high.
Big winners become immortal for a moment.
Money is only part of this morality play. Beating the odds implies not dying. Most people are nonviolent while believing that hostile violence is more prevalent than it is, thanks to exaggerated reports. This supports the reigning ideology that only the threat of violence deters violence. But Otto Rank points out that internal controls work very well, generally, without due credit.