Response to Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut

I don't usually read dystopian fiction, and Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut is a good example of why. In this short story, everyone in America is equal by the year 2081, with people who have an advantage (strong, pretty, even smarter than the average person) have "handicaps." People who are smart have earpieces they are never allowed to take off (or they will be imprisoned and fined) which are controlled by the government, namely the Handicapper General. Every twenty seconds, a loud noise plays through the earpiece, disrupting their thoughts. This is pretty disturbing to me, especially since the "average" smart person in the story is REALLY dumb. The two main characters' son, Harrison Bergeron, is very abnormal, and he is killed for defecting the government, which is the climax/falling action.

Reading, I had lots of questions, most of which were Level 2 (meaning their answers weren't found in the text, but they didn't go beyond the text). One of the biggest questions I had was, if everyone is equal, and couldn't do a job better than anyone else, what gives anyone the advantages for being put in a job. Why are the ballerinas chosen to be ballerinas? Is it just a luck-of-the-draw sort of thing? What gives the Handicapper General the right to have the job? I bet she isn't handicapped, as she can shoot pretty well (she shoots and kills Harrison with one bullet). If the answer is "because the government now controls everything and everyone," then I don't like it. I just hope that the world that Harrison Bergeron in doesn't happen in the real world. I want everyone to be equal, but a different solution would probably be best.