Perhaps the addition of around 190 amendments to the Constitution since 1961, the publishing date of "Harrison Bergeron," suggests the increasing authoritarianism of the US government. For the most part, it is very difficult to pass an amendment to the Constitution, considering only 27 have been passed in nearly 240 years. For so many amendments to pass would suggest that strongmen and strongwomen, as is the case in this story, have pushed through these amendments with threats of violence.
Just thinking about "Harrison Bergeron," it's very clear that the government has become authoritarian. The removal of handicaps is punished with Draconian laws ("Two years in prison and two thousand dollars fine for every ball I took out . . ."). Those, like Harrison himself, who defy societal expectations are removed from the public and put in prisons. Then, as the end of the story shows, people who defy the government, as Harrison does, do not get a trial, but are instead killed on the spot.
The fact that there have been 213 amendments added to the United States Constitution in the short story indicates that America's government is continually making changes in order to appease the entire population. Given the fact that today the Constitution has only been amended twenty-seven times since its inception in 1787, Vonnegut's future American society has taken extreme steps to change the outlook and landscape of the nation.
In the short story, the last three amendments added to the Constitution specifically concern issues of equality. After the 213th amendment was added to the Constitution, the entire population of America was completely equal in every sense of the word. With the perseverance and vigilance of the agents of the United States Handicapper General, citizens became equal in intelligence, athleticism, and appearance. Overall, the high number of amendments indicates that the future United States government is continually changing in an attempt to please seemingly everyone in society.
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