The Chromium Fence

To be completely honest this story frightened me because I definitely saw it as a warning for the future society we may end up living in or our children may end up living in. I already see so many instances of our current society placing heavy importance on beauty and how each individual looks or rates in attractiveness.

Philip K. Dick's stories all do an amazing job drawing on fears we have as a society and as individuals. The Chromium Fence specifically draws on our fear of not being accepted or seen as superior. In Dick's future society those who are normal humans with body odor and bodily excretions are seen as worthy of execution. This scares me because I know I, of course have normal bodily functions, but past just being human, may not be adequately beautiful or acceptable to this future society. Also, I occasionally think about how others judge or think about me, but I never fear I will be killed because I don't measure up to others expectations. To have to live with this burden would be much like what I imagine hell on earth would be like.

Dick also makes another great point about extremes. In his future world there are either the Naturalists or the Purists and nothing in between. This society completely eliminates individuals and individual thought. I would hope that even as we advance as the human race, we continue to consider the view points of different people, realizing that diversity increases the goodness of an outcome. I just hope no one ever forces me to completely change against my will.