Harrison Bergeron

Wow, another sci-fi story. These are interesting to me sometimes. Although they seem on the surface to spout off shreds of ridiculousness or present reality in a version that is impossible to ever contemplate as real.... they can have some vital elements of truth in them. Harrison Bergeron is about a society that is equal to the extreme. Those that have advantages over others are required to wear something that inhibits them from displaying that advantage. For intstance, the very intelligent must wear the mental handicapp radio that transmits sounds in the ear of the person when their mental capacity is exceeding the standard of those around them. Performers, like dancers, must wear weights and masks, so no one can be deemed prettier or have more skill. This story is satirizing an element of our society that seems to be growing. We value equality in this country but how far should that go? Should we punish others for being better than us at something? In my opinion... no, we were all made as unique individuals with certain strengths and weaknesses that are special to that individual. Competition makes us stronger and taking that away would result in a stable society for sure but it would be a stable, stagnant society. No advancements in anything... technology, medicine, arts, ect. Our competition is what defines us. It helps us form the value of endurance. This story also pokes at the aspect that our society is slowly becoming devoid of thought. With all the new technoligies it seems that we are creating ways to decrease the use of are cognitive actions. Also, it could also mean that we are lazy and let others think for us, like our government or those that are superior to us. If this is the future of our society than it is just plain sad. I want to be able to think freely and I certainly would want to remember when and how my child died and so forth. Equality is an important aspect of our society that should be carried out. But the extent that the story drags it is way to far. Human beings need to be able to express themsevles. The society describe in the story would be extremely boring and sad to me in several aspects.