How does the society in Kurt Vonnegut's "Harrison Bergeron" compare to modern society?

In the
short story, America has become obsessed with equality. Every individual throughout the nation
is perfectly equal in all facets of life. Talented and beautiful individuals are forced to wear
handicaps, which limit their abilities and disguise their beauty in order to be equal with
everyone else. Vonnegut's message is clear: individuals with natural talents should never be
forced to sacrifice their abilities for the alleged good of society. Vonnegut's dystopian
America satirizes and illustrates how civil rights laws, affirmative action laws, and equal
employment opportunities committees have attempted to equal the playing field at the expense of
rejecting more talented individuals. While these laws were instituted to promote equality in the
workplace and end discriminatory practices directed toward those of different races, religions,
and genders, a new set of problems was created. Affirmative action laws and policies force
companies to set targets and quotas concerning the...