. It's for real, and it's a situation in which every one of us can influence it for better or for worse

The fact that something is for real, Ian, simply makes it a more compelling game. Like any game, real world action has rules, consequences, goals, barriers, and intermediate rewards like happiness. Influencing it for the better is how you win at the game, and likewise influencing it for the worse is how you lose at it. Of course, not everyone has the same definition of these things, which was not made explicit in the rule book! :>) This makes the game much more interesting, like building secreat alliances in one of those Empire board games like Risk. Instead of "identifying" with a pewter candlestick or a purple wooden token, you get to identify with a carbon-oxygen-driven meat machine with a built in thinking circuit!! Wow!! Now that's fun!! (Most of the time, anyway!).

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