Throughout the history of mankind, issues with different types of equality among humans have existed. For example, Roman citizens existed in one of two social classes, either patricians who were the aristocratic members of society, or plebeians who were the peasants and common people. In the B.C. era, any kind of major illness or impairment that someone might would usually warrant a demotion of social status. Someone with leprosy usually would no longer be considered a member of society and often times were shunned from their own communities.
While a completely egalitarian society may sound appealing, the author Kurt Vonnegut points out the flaws of everyone being totally equal in his short story Harrison Bergeron. In this story, he illustrates a society that has pushed the ideas of equality to the extremes. For example, people who are strong have weights placed upon their bodies. If they are smart, than they have apparatus placed inside them to hinder them from thinking too much. Athletes who are exceptional at sports have impaired equipment to level the playing field. Attractive people must wear bags over their heads. All this is to create a society where no one has any advantages over another individual. Vonnegut demonstrates the problems with a totally equal society, and the dangers of pushing equality too far.
In today’s society, our government continues to increase the equality of people. Immigrants to America are gaining equal opportunity to become employed and receive education. In the 1960’s, African Americans started to gain civil equality with white people. Now, homosexuals are allowed to legally be married. But are there places where we have taken equality too far? In Vonnegut’s story, he implies that bounds towards equality are taken too far when instead of bringing lower people higher, you bring higher people lower. In other words, “Robin Hood” actions, while often done with the right intentions, should be considered immoral and wrong. A government taxing those with higher income more than those with a lower income should be considered immoral and wrong, because in the endeavor for equality in a society you should not have to take more from wealthier people to compensate for the poorer people. While doing charitable acts are in no way wrong, forcing the wealthy to do them is wrong.
So has our government strived too hard for equality? In terms of Vonnegut’s story, the answer is yes. The solution to this would be to cease all impediments instilled upon the higher classes and encourage the raising of the lower classes.