ribbit
“
Friday, October 12, 2007
Mother Superior was leaving
for a
meeting this morning. I said, "Al Gore won the Nobel Peace
Prize." She said two words, and left
"Harrison
Bergeron"
Jump to Now.
Rodge
My son had to read this and answer homework
questions to it. It's right out of an Atlas Shrugged mind, but I'll be
damned if I can't see this happening by 2081...
Chris
THE YEAR WAS 2081, and
everybody was finally equal. They weren't only equal before God and the
law. They were equal every which way. 
Nobody
was smarter than anybody else. Nobody was better looking than anybody
else. Nobody was stronger or quicker than anybody else. All this
equality was due to the 211th, 212th, and 213th Amendments to the
Constitution, and to the unceasing vigilance of agents of the United
States Handicapper General.
Some things about living still
weren't quite right, though. April for instance, still drove people
crazy by not being springtime. And it was in that clammy month that the
H-G men took George and Hazel Bergeron's fourteen-year-old son,
Harrison, away.
It was tragic, all right, but George and Hazel couldn't think about it
very hard. Hazel had a perfectly average intelligence, which meant she
couldn't think about anything except in short bursts. And George, while
his intelligence was way above normal, had a little mental handicap
radio in his ear. He was required by law to wear it at all times. It
was tuned to a government transmitter. Every twenty seconds or so, the
transmitter would send out some sharp noise to keep people like George
from taking unfair advantage of their brains.
George and Hazel were watching television. There were tears on Hazel's
cheeks, but she'd forgotten for the moment what they were about.
On the television screen were ballerinas.
A buzzer sounded in George's head. His thoughts fled in panic, like
bandits from a burglar alarm.
"That was a real pretty dance, that dance they just did," said Hazel.
"Huh" said George.
"That dance-it was nice," said Hazel.
You
can watch the loosely adapted full
movie here, or read it here,
or read some of it, and do
the homework here. Then you decide (if you haven't already).
”
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