Stories

As I read "Harrison Bergeron" this week for class, I found myself thinking about what it would be like to live in that type of a world. I had already read the story before, so I could focus more on what was behind the story than the actual plot itself. Even though it's a science fiction short story, it has kind of underlying horror to it. With all of the equality movements going on in the 60's, it's definitely a parody of those fights for complete equality. The story scares me in more ways then one, and even though I know our world will (hopefully) never be like that, it still made me think about what it would be like. There really are conflicting messages out there. On one hand people are telling you to do your best at everything you do and how you perform determines your worth as a person. While other people tell you everyone is equal, and one individual isn't any better than those around them. I'm not saying I agree with either one of these messages exactly, but it is interesting to think about. We promote equality but yet people are determined by their successes and their failures. I think Harrison Bergeron, for its time, was somewhat of a warning that people are unequal. Should everyone have an equal opportunity to succeed? Yes, in my opinion, but at the same time people will take advantage of the strengths they have over other people. It's important that we don't get to the point where we try to "handicap" those strengths whether it's physically like in "Harrison Bergeron" (not likely) or more likely, societal attitude towards inequality. Ok, that's my rant for the day. It was a tough week, but this weekend has been great. Next week will be tough too, but I'll make it through!