As nearly everyone who pays any attention to the ups and downs of American longings knows, it appears that we have, after much waiting, a winner of the massive Powerball lottery (nearly $600 million) which has been making headlines for the past several days.  As the winner must claim his/her prize within sixty days, it seems that by the middle of the summer we will know who this person is.
     On the face of it, one might say that this person is fortunate.  On the face of it, it seems that this person is set, financially, for the rest of his/her life.  On the face of it, it seems that this person has achieved what countless Americans long for:  lasting material security.
     I suppose this person has.  I suggest, however, that this person will also gain a notoriety and attention which he/she might not welcome, a glare in the spotlight of American celebrity with which he/she may not be entirely prepared to deal.  Sociologists tell us of countless lottery winners whose lives fracture and fall apart within a year of their winning the big prize.  For a variety of reasons, these individuals cannot handle the responsibilities and headaches (yes, headaches) of suddenly coming into a massive sum of money.
     Not to say that we do not rejoice with the winners.  We are indeed happy for them.  Yet our happiness underscores a profound ill in American and, to an extent all, societies.  That ill is to make happiness contingent upon what we have.  Thousands of observers have of course said this before, but it bears mentioning again.  Money will never satisfy fully.  It buys dreams, it answers prayers, and it eases difficult times, but it will never completely address the fundamental longings of our hearts.  Money is material, and what is material cannot address, fully, the inescapable metaphysical questions and issues of human existence.  What is physical will never complete what is metaphysical, and what is finite will never complete what is eternal.
     Beyond this, I note that, sadly, a very small percentage of the money spent on lottery tickets actually goes to education, its ostensible purpose.  Moreover, I question whether the prospect of states raising money by encouraging people to spend money which they may not really have is entirely ethical.  Is it right to feed a questionable habit--not just gambling, but the ethos that money buys lasting happiness--to support the state?