Last night we had a hearty meal of bacon wrapped chicken, green peas, and Newcastle, accompanied by a tasty cranberry almond salad. It was hearty because of the fellowship. My two brothers and their wives joined our table for a delectable time of story-swapping, after returning from their recent travels in Scotland and Turkey.
Ben passionately recounted the true history of William Wallace, while Luke and Miranda kept us in stitches from some of their stories about their not-so-proficient-in-English, Turkish travel guide . Before transitioning from the dinner table to the comfort of the living room, we listened to the short story of “Harrison Bergeron” (1961) by Kurt Vonnegut.
Harrison Bergeron is the imprisoned son of George Bergeron, an exceptionally smart and capable man who is weighed down by state-issued handicaps–a 47 lb bag of birdshot around his neck and a radio transmitter ear piece that broadcasts mentally disruptive sounds every 20 seconds. It is an age of equality, due to the 211, 212, 213 amendments to the constitution. Everyone is forced to be of average intelligence, appearance, and capability.
While watching T.V. Harrison and his wife witness the prison escape of their son, whose handicapps are much greater than George’s. Like ripping through wet toilet paper, Harrison tears off the strips of steel attached to his shoulders to weigh him down. He breaks free of his mind and vision handicapping devices on live television and dubs himself Emperor of the world.
Then, he takes a ballerina for an empress and begins to dance to orchestral music. They soar in mid-air, upwards of 30 feet, just shy of the studio ceiling, where they eventually suspend in mid-air in a long-lasting kiss of love. This moment of serenity, inequality and peace is then radically disrupted by the shot of a double-barrel gun. The handicapper general killed them in mid-air and restored equality.
With tears in their eyes, George and his wife watch the T.V. burn out. They have forgotten what happened due to their mental handicaps. “What was it?” George asks his wife. “It’s all kind of mixed up in my mind,” said Hazel. “Forget sad things,” said George. “I always do,” said Hazel.
What do you think of this vision of equality? How does enforced equality square with the “equality of the new heavens and earth?” These are some of the questions we discussed around the dinner table. What are your thoughts?
Kurt Vonnegut (November 11, 1922 – April 11, 2007) has been named one of the best American novelists of the 20th century. Vonnegut’s writing style is distinct blending satire, black comedy, science fiction.