By CECIL BOTHWELL

Americans are in love with luck. And I mean that in a bad way. 

As a nation, we seem to have embraced the idea that success in life is as unpredictable and happenstance as the asteroid strike that wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago — only in a good way.

We have encouraged a mindset that anything is possible, that everyone has a shot at the gold ring. Who wants to be a millionaire? Who wants to dance with the stars? Who wants to be a survivor or make a killing on Wall Street? 

The acclaim given to superstars in sports, entertainment, and religion has had a collateral effect on society that is widespread and  pernicious. A lot of kids growing up in our superstar society believe that the same success and wealth is readily available to them. That idea tends to devalue education and everyday jobs and puts the focus on talent and luck.

The fact that a kid from public housing has a much better chance of being a heart surgeon than a basketball star is lost, so instead of hitting the books, kids shoot baskets for hour upon hour. A few musicians make millions — and a million youngsters pick up guitars thinking that they too are one hit single away from glory. 

The fact that study and hard work can let you fashion a satisfying and productive life is set aside. Instant wealth seems possible just around the corner, as near as a winning lottery ticket. 

In a world where luck is considered to be more the arbiter of success than work, gambling makes perfect sense. Online poker, limos to Harrahs, weekends in Las Vegas and Buncombe County’s former sheriff Bobby Medford’s video poker racketeering are all part of that mindset.

It’s really kind of boggling when you consider the popularity of gambling these days, where everyone knows that the house always, ultimately wins and it’s considered to be great good fun to give more than you can afford to corporations which are richer than you can imagine.

Most states have gotten into the act as well, usually with the pretense that lottery profits go to education. In the process we have gotten a whole lot of folks hooked on Lotto, and many Mom’n’Pop stores hooked on selling tickets. 

Think about that. We are essentially telling youngsters that education isn’t important enough to warrant higher taxes. Instead, we derive a significant portion of funding from enticing their parents to throw away money on games of chance. And far beyond the immediate lesson we teach our children, is the effect on many adults. 

Look how luck has infected our politics. Many people, imagining that they too will soon be rich, cast their lot with the the wealthy. They then vote for policies that continue to widen the gap between rich and poor. They complain about tax hikes for the rich, even when there are tax cuts for the poor, unwilling to accept that they are, and will almost to a person, always be among the 95 percent who are relatively poor. 

Many insist that our meager social welfare programs like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and Food Stamps are beggaring our country, while excessive military spending is clearly the real problem. (We spend more on warfare than the next 14 countries combined.) Not to mention the fact that the great majority of us will happily avail ourselves of many of those programs at some time in the future.

As the funniest Tea Party protest sign I’ve seen framed it: “Keep  the Government out of my Medicare!” 

Somehow a collective memory hole swallowed stories of the desperate plight of our geriatric ancestors less than 100 years in our past. Voters have even bought into political viewpoints that teach them that poor immigrants are keeping them down, not their own choices in the voting booth. 

Our political choices have created the widest wealth gap in the history of the world. That isn’t in any way a matter of luck. It has resulted from intentional manipulation of government policy by elected officials working for corporate kingpins. 

We voted them into office, and you can take that to the bank.

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Cecil Bothwell is author of eight books and a member of Asheville City Council.