“The slaves shall serve … We should have no compunction in utilizing the natural qualities of the bulk of mankind. We do not insist on trying to train sheep to hunt foxes or lecture on history; we look after their physical well-being and enjoy their wool and mutton. In this way, we shall have a contented class of slaves who accept the conditions of existence as they really are, and enjoy life with the quiet wisdom of the cattle. … The slaves shall serve.”
— Aleister Crowley
“The year was 2081, and everybody was finally equal. They weren’t only equal before God and the law. They were equal every which way. Nobody was smarter than anybody else. Nobody was better looking than anybody else. Nobody was stronger or quicker than anybody else. 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.”
— Kurt Vonnegut, from his prophetic short story ‘Harrison Bergeron,’ 1961
“Hazel had a perfectly average intelligence, which meant she couldn’t think about anything except in short bursts. And George, while his intelligence was way above normal, had a little mental handicap radio in his ear. He was required by law to wear it at all times. It was tuned to a government transmitter. Every twenty seconds or so, the transmitter would send out some sharp noise to keep people like George from taking unfair advantage of their brains.”
— Kurt Vonnegut, from his prophetic short story ‘Harrison Bergeron,’ 1961
“The problem is us. … The lockdown-lovers are going to punish us for our wrongheaded attachment to notions of individual rights, and they will punish us still more for continuing recalcitrance. But note this: they can only get away with it by selling us one more lie – namely, that what they’re doing to us is really the work of a disease beyond anyone’s control. … The coronavirus is just another flu. The real disaster has been the work of human beings. Resisting it must be, too.
— Michael Lesher. 7/18/20