To obey someone is natural and a common occurrence. Disobeying someone on the other hand is thought to be wrong and immoral even if it brings more happiness and pleasure to all. In the story "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson, she describes a small village gathering in the square to take place in a lottery. This is great you say. A lottery, what could be better than winning money? Unfortunately this is a lottery for much more than just money, but to see how a tradition of a society can have people do something that ordinarily they would never think of otherwise.
             On average, people say that they would never want to hurt anyone or anything. This is primarily true in the story when Mrs. Delacroix said to Mrs. Graves "Seems like there's no time at all between lotteries any more. Seems like we got through with the last one only last week (386, Shirley Jackson)." What I am trying to say is that at these lotteries, the rest of the villagers will stone whoever looses. The act of the lottery is a deep tradition that dates back long before the oldest person in the town. This tradition that they have has no purpose or reason but they continue to do it because "There's always been a lottery (387, Shirley Jackson)" according to Old Man Warner. "For centuries...parents have insisted that obedience is a virtue and that disobedience is a vice (377, Erich Fromm)." In order to keep up with the traditions that they have they must be totally obedient to whatever their leader says is right and wrong. They are merely slave to this lottery and cannot think for themselves otherwise they would know that this is wrong.
             People want to feel safe and secure. This is natural. By people obeying a higher authority they feel good and it is comforting to be part of the crowd. "As long as you are obedient to the power of the State, the Church, or Public Opinion, you feel safe and protected (380, Erich Fromm.).&...