In society today, we as humans are all controlled in some way or another whether we want to admit it or not. Especially as teenagers, we allow our peers, authority figures and parents to take too much control over our lives. But, nevertheless we are all striving to be ‘unique’. Someone once said “Be unique, everyone is doing it.” How ironic is that? Yet, it is so true. So often we judge others based on ‘norms’ of society. Harrison Bergeron represents the part of the American people that still longs to fit in, flaunt their attributes, and be better than their peers. Why is it that we feel that we will only be accepted if we strive to be like one another?
Harrison is described as seven feet tall, very strong, and extremely handsome. In the story the government does everything in its power to hinder Harrison, forcing him to wear huge earphones to distort his thinking, glasses to damage his sight and give him headaches and many other handicaps. But not even jail could stop Harrison. The part that shows his true freedom is when Harrison and his empress danced.
“And then, in an explosion of joy and grace, into the air they sprang. Not only were the laws of the land abandoned, but the law of gravity and the laws of motion as well. They reeled, whirled, swiveled, flounced, capered, gamboled, and spun. They leaped like deer on the moon. The studio ceiling was thirty feet high, but each leap brought the dancers nearer to it. It became their obvious intention to kiss the ceiling. They kissed it. And then, neutraling gravity with love and pure will, they remained suspended in air inches below the ceiling, and they kissed each other for a long, long time.”
“And then, in an explosion of joy and grace, into the air they sprang. Not only were the laws of the land abandoned, but the law of gravity and the laws of motion as well. They reeled, whirled, swiveled, flounced, capered, gamboled, and spun. They leaped like deer on the moon. The studio ceiling was thirty feet high, but each leap brought the dancers nearer to it. It became their obvious intention to kiss the ceiling. They kissed it. And then, neutraling gravity with love and pure will, they remained suspended in air inches below the ceiling, and they kissed each other for a long, long time.”
This was the closest Harrison got to ‘freedom’ from equality. He was able to leap and dance with love.
This leads me to the question: How many times in our daily lives do we hold back from doing something at our fullest potential? Are we allowing others to hinder our actions and thoughts? We are given the freedom to excel in so many ways throughout our lives but many times we are either embarrassed or even too lazy to reach to the top. The Bible tells us in Colossians 3:23 - Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.’ What if we were joyful unto the Lord and used our many God-given talents and gifts to share with others?
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