Unbeknownst
to most of our contemporaries, _Fortune_ is actually a _deity_, like Allah or
Jesus. But unlike them she has been
worshipped since most ancient times, as Tyche in Greece and as Fortuna in Rome.
She continues to be worshipped in the
present times, around the world, but especially in the US, where her temples
and shrines are everywhere, from the humble lottery machines at every corner
shop, gas station and liquor store to the casino capitalists who inhabit the
glass towers of Wall Street. Millions of
mortals supplicate before Tyche daily. Virtually
unnoticed, the cult of Tyche dominates the religious landscape in the US: just compare the sizes of the casino buildings
in Las Vegas and Atlantic City to the country's largest cathedrals and temples:
except for a few mega-churches, the
former consistently dwarf the latter.
The
essential act of worshipping Tyche is by drawing lots, from which derives the
term "lottery." Tyche's promise is that
you too may win some day, and this simple promise is powerful enough to allow
her to hold much of the population captive to her every whim, ready to gamble
away their last dollar. Tyche's
spiritual solace is that, whatever happens, it is never your fault, just your
luck. Tyche also keeps the peace,
allowing us to overcome the envy and rancor we inevitably feel against our
betters: they succeed not because of
their superiority, but because of sheer dumb luck; we could all be just like them, if only the
all-powerful Tyche would favor us. Or so
our true national religion tells us.
More on Dmitry
Orlov and the dire prospects for the US economy.
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