The lottery passage was very intriguing as I compared it to society in the United States. A lottery is something that is used to strip any social prestige. I think it is an effective way of randomly selecting people. As the people in that community understood their tradition of the lottery I think you can compare that to the draft in the United States. As US citizens we understand the obligation we serve to our country if we are selected. It is a very democratic practice if done fairly.
The Omelas are unique people and quite honestly I think it would be very interesting to live in their society. The Omelas are people who are obviously a tight nit group of people. Through their own culture and rules they have achieved happiness. In this society it is clear that everyone has their own duties to the community to make it function. This was a common theme I found in both passages. They both analyzed how the followers of a community do their part.
I actually really like how you compared the lottery to the draft in the U.S because that is a take I never actually considered. Although they are evidently very similar in how they randomly select, I also think there is some connection the willingness of everyone to conform and accept the draft. I also think it is interesting how you would like to live in the Omelas society. Although I do value your admiration of a tight knit society–it is also important to remember how difficult it is to ev love and dissent from a society that is so closely knit,
I would like to point out with the U.S. draft one can pay out of it or have historically been able to get out of it. which breaks apart the analogy as a fair equal system. the lottery system only works in a place like omelas where “everyone” is an equal, and Omelas is inherently unequal that is the paradox of Omelas and the inherently equal system of lottery, once humans are introduced it becomes unequal.
I think it was very interesting that you compared the draft and the lottery. The lottery is typically seen as a critique of people following social traditions blindly even if they are unethical, however comparing it to the draft makes it seem fair and justified.
I also liked the connection you drew between the lottery and the draft in the United States as it makes for a good comparison. I think that the Omelas are unique just because their community is so close which worked well for them. However, I think that it is also rare to have a group get along so well.
I also think it is very intriguing that you compared the lottery to the US draft. I say this because I thought about this while I was reading but didn’t put much thought into it but not reflecting on this thought it is very true that both are randomly selected and that there is no thought process other than the process as to whom gets selected.
Your observation that this lottery was used to strip social prestige made me think about how we normally view lotteries. In our society, a lottery results in one individual winning a big sum of money, which would elevate their social prestige, yet in this society, the opposite is true.
I think your comparison of the lottery to the draft was very interesting. I’m not sure if I would consider the draft to be completely equal. There is a history of people getting out of the draft and like the lottery it also has gender issues.
I agree that your comparison between the lottery and the draft was very interesting and I had never thought of it before. I would not consider the draft to be equal though as there has been a proven history of people paying to get out of it. This then only benefits the upper class and those who are unable to afford it are forced to enlist.
I disagree that the Lottery in the story equates to the US draft because, yes, it is true that they “strip social prestige,” but the US draft has a clear, distinct purpose, to stregthen the numbers of the army who are sacrificing their lives to defend this country. The Lottery of the story is much more random and purposeless.
I also liked how you compared the story of the lottery to the U.S. draft. I hadn’t thought of a real life example of how the lottery system might play out. However, like the other comments above me, the draft is not a truly democratic system.