The Dangers and Pointlessness of Total Equality

The Danger and Pointlessness of Total Equality In the story "Harrison Bergeron", author Kurt Vonnegut Jr. described a sort of dystopia where everyone is "equal". There was a government that made it it's duty to force equality upon every citizen in the form of handicaps. There were handicaps that were instilled upon a person if they were more beautiful, strong, intelligent, and talented than the "average" individual. These hinderences were dangerous, torturous, and discouraged any type of possible individualism of the people. This new government of the year 2081 prioritized in making everyone as equal as the next person. Although it seems as though these handicaps achieved the goal of this new government, it also worked against itself. For example, by placing an ugly mask on an attractive man or woman, it made it more obvious that there were some citizens that were truly more superior in looks than others. Further examples include the "sashweights and bags of birdshot" (Vonnegut 217) for the strong and graceful, and the distracting loud noises transmitted through the handicap radios in the ears of the intelligent citizens. The sounds that came through these radios were unbearable. "It was such a doozy that George was white and trembling, and tears stood on the rims of his red eyes. Two of the eight ballerinas had collapsed to the studio floor, were holding their temples" (Vonnegut 217). What was the point of watching ungraceful ballerinas who were constantly falling to the ground? Not only did these handicaps work against itself but they also tormented and extremely crippled the citizens. To achieve equality, the government had more creative methods up their sleeves. All announcers that were hired had to have speech impediments. The speech impediments of these announcers were so extreme that it actually was difficult to understand them. "The announcer tried to say 'Ladies and gentlemen--' He finally gave up, handed the bulletin to a ballerina to read"