Equality

The Declaration of Independence claims that all men are created equal. This idealistic statement has some flaws attached. Would a perfect world have all people equal in every aspect of life? Kurt Vonnegut Jr. explores this idea in the fictional story Harrison Bergeron. His outlandish story shows the extremities that come with absolute equality. America has come a long way in equalizing rights for everyone. Therefore, his story is a logical analysis of what would happen if we strived to make every man and woman equal both physically and mentally.
Vonnegut’s fictional world takes place in the year 2081. New constitutional amendments required everybody to become completely equal with one another. To ensure that the people follow the law, a United States Handicapper General is formed to eliminate natural competition which is essential for succeeding in modern time. Vonnegut explores the idea of eliminating this factor in order to achieve an absolute equality. He gives gifted people man-made handicaps forcing absolute American equality. For example, the father of the Bergeron family is exceptionally smart; as a result he is required to wear an earplug which makes noises to break his concentration. He also wears weights on hi

Everyone is taught to try to be all that they can be, in order to go far or succeed in life. This search for wealth drives people to compete with each other. Total equality would make competition inexistent. This is extreme idea of total equality would not work in today’s world. Competition is what takes away the bland aspect of life. People need some inequality to ensure stimulation of our economy. Technology would no longer be pressured to advance. People need to be different from each other to keep people searching for a more positive position in society.

Most people are seeking for equality in the sense that everybody wants to be treated the same. The equality we search for should abolish any form of prejudice. Before you meet someone, you should not think less of them based on physical or mental features. People tend to make bulk decision regarding race, gender, and religious choice. This is the area which we still need to strive toward achieving a more equal world. Equality is having the same rules apply for everybody (Thomas Sowell). This absolute equality is necessary when dealing with the law. Everybody should be judged the same for their negative actions. The United States Government says that all people are innocent until proven guilty. Figuratively, we can apply this statement