Harrison Bergeron

Equality is a value that our society strives to maintain and strengthen but is it possible that this value could ever be taken too far? I think this story goes to show that in some circumstances equality can be seen as overpowering. When individuals are not able to express there own individuality, it is a sign that equality has been taken too far. In Harrison Bergeron everyone is taken down to the same level. If the person was too smart he or she is dumbed down and if the person is too pretty he or she is uglied up. This seems ridiculous to us but when we see Harrison break against the norms of the society we see he gets shot down, literally. We see that the situation of equality had been taken way too far. If something goes too far it is hard to stop. To make things easier, as a society we must enforce equality only to a certain level. The quote “different but equal” reminds me of this story. It is possible to uphold both concepts at the same time and a balance of the two is needed.