The Crate

Abstract

How is personal pride, the backlash against political correctness, and the desire to be “better” than those around you, helpful or harmful to society? In this work of philosophical short story fiction, the narrator lives in a divided society. She lives in the American Political Union, a community that has worked hard to stamp out all comparisons between its members so that no one will feel bad about their relative attractiveness, or intelligence. In fact, people are required to move about the city in mobile crates, thus hiding their appearance. Furthermore, it is deemed culturally taboo to brag or express higher value in intellectual accomplishments. The main character, an intelligent student, convinces her friend to jump the border into the Old American Republic, a community where people are judged, sorted, compared, and it is almost impossible to interact with those of higher orders than yourself. The girls escape to the Old American Republic only to find that judging takes many different forms, and that happiness for those that view themselves as superior is not as easily found as is always expected. This story, like all After Dinner Conversation stories, has suggested discussion questions at the end.