What does the addition of 213 amendments in 2081 say about the government in "Harrison Bergeron"?

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.

What does the addition of 213 amendments in 2081 say about the government in "Harrison Bergeron"?

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.

What do the 213 amendments in "Harrison Bergeron" reveal about the story's government?

As was mentioned in the previous post, the 213 amendments to the United States Constitution illustrates the extensive, prolonged change that took place throughout American society since its inception. In the opening paragraph of the story, Vonnegut writes that it is the year 2081, and everybody is literally equal because of the 211th, 212th, and 213th Amendments to the United States Constitution. The reader immediately understands that in Vonnegut's fictional story, the government of the United States is still a recognized, active, authoritative body. The high number of amendments also illustrates the shift in society's perspective and beliefs. Having 213 amendments suggests that the issues limiting equality have been gradually accepted over a long period of time. The extremely high number of amendments are also satirical in nature. Amendments to the United States Constitution are a way of improving society through democratic means, which obviously have been taken too far in Vonnegut's fictional story. Continually amending the Constitution of the United States has the ability to corrupt the fundamental ideals America was founded on, which is what Vonnegut illustrates in the opening paragraph of the short story. 

What do the 213 amendments in "Harrison Bergeron" reveal about the story's government?

This detail tells us several crucial things about government in this story.

First, it tells us the government in this story is still technically the government of the United States. This is not some alien world or another country with a different legal tradition.

This also suggests the oppressive actions the government in this story take come from principles and ideals that already exist in the United States.

Third, the number 213 is extremely high. Right now, there have only been 27 amendments to the Constitution, and when Vonnegut wrote the story, there were even fewer (22). This means there has been a tremendous amount of change in the intervening years. The government in this society has introduced change after change, modification after modification. It suggests democracy is out of hand, and the people are making changes to get what they want that ignore the core principles upon which America was founded.

Finally, this means this is a government that keeps the appearance of legitimacy, but which is now hollow. This fits the story; the kind of equality the handicappers enforce is not the kind written into the original Declaration of Independence or Constitution.

What does "Harrison Bergeron" imply about the constitution's changes by 2081?

We learn in the opening to "Harrison Bergeron" that:

All this equality was due to the 211th, 212th, and 213th Amendments to the Constitution, and to the unceasing vigilance of agents of the United States Handicapper General.

As of 1961, when the story was published, the Constitution had only been amended 23 times—and only 13 since the 1790s. Therefore, Vonnegut, in envisioning 200 more amendments, is conveying to his readers that the Constitution has been radically altered by 2081. Two hundred amendments would almost certainly add more words total to the Constitution than were there to begin with, so we can imagine the Constitution is a completely redesigned document by this time.

We discover from the story that the original American notion of equality as equality of opportunity has been completely redefined. In this story, equality is understood as an absurd process of leveling everyone to the lowest common denominator so that the least talented, least beautiful, and least capable do not suffer from self-esteem problems. Like other writers of his era, who were worried about the "dumbing down" effects of media such as television, Vonnegut is parodying the 1950s and early-1960s American emphasis on mindless conformity. He is arguing that people of talent need to be recognized because their contributions, even if they are as intangible as the beauty of a ballet dance.