Equality and Desensitization Taken Too Far
             The United States was ridden with conflict in the nineteen - sixties. We were a country at war in many different ways. There was fighting with other nations in the Cold and Vietnam wars and also fighting amongst ourselves. Anti-war protesters ran rampant in the streets and on college campuses everywhere chastising the government and those in support of the war in Vietnam. Feminists and people of different races were yearning and reaching to be equal to men and whites, respectively. The American people were constantly bombarded by any news or developments in any aspect of any of these events. It was impossible to escape as they came in the news, on the radio and often times became very moving and emotionally stirring when placed on the television. In these volatile times artists in all genres used their art to voice their opinions regarding the status of the nation. Kurt Vonnegut utilized his gift of short story writing to do so and through "Harrison Bergeron" he speaks out. In "Harrison Bergeron" Vonnegut satirizes the nation and how it was becoming desensitized by television as well as the misunderstanding of the freedom being sought out by citizens and how that related to the Cold War and the perception of what freedom is.
             Vonnegut's allusion to the desensitizing done by television is primarily seen through Harrison's mother, Hazel Bergeron. Hazel was desensitized to the extreme; in that she was able to see the death of her son broadcast live on television, shedding a few tears only to forget why she was sad moments later. " "Have you been crying?' he said to Hazel. 'Yup,' she said. 'What about?' he said. 'I forget,' she said. 'Something real sad on television.' " (Vonnegut) Jonathan Alvarez says that Vonnegut's discussion of the desensitization done by television was spur...