Monday, November 30, 2015

In "Harrison Bergeron," everyone is forced to be the same. What is one place today where people are forced to be the same?

There are two things that immediately come to mind when I
think of this question. The first one is the way in which in some schools (I went to
one) students have to wear uniforms that make them appear the same, and you are not
allowed to choose your own clothing to wear to school. This of course means that you are
not free to express yourself through your dress and ensures a basic sameness that
permeates the entire school.


My second thought concerns
cultures which stress the value of conformity and following the group over following
your individual desires and wishes. A culture such as the collective culture of China,
for example, places a high value on sameness and the importance of community, even if
that means suppressing your own desires and wishes. Either of these could be used as a
modern day parallel for this excellent short story that presents us with a world where
political correctness has gone wild.

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