The Lottery

d- The concept that it can be acceptable to require the individual to
sacrifice for the greater good.
This short story reminded me a lot about the theme that a community can think that sacrifice is for the greater good. I feel as if religions do this a lot. When they believe something, they are willing to do anything for that belief. Sometimes it may seem irrational to others but is normal to them. Especially if you have a large community that thinks the same thing. When it isn't only you thinking that sacrifice is okay, you tend to think that it is a normal thing. An example of this is our different cultures around the world. What we think is weird in America, could be normal in a different culture.
I think that sometimes people can be brainwashed to think that something is alright. An example of this is during the holocaust when the germans were killing so many people. A normal person would think that killing people isnt normal but when such a large group of people are doing the same thing, it seems to be normal. The older generations in the short story convince the younger generations that it is okay to sacrifice someone so their crops will thrive. Old man Warner is an example of this in the short story. One of the characters mentions that other villages have already quit the lottery and old man warner got angry and told them that that just isnt right. He convinces them that sacrificing a person is okay.