The following was posted today by a friend of mine on Facebook. Hans Christian Andersen tellingly described our current emperor in waiting, our very own Caesar Disgustus and the sycophants who enable him.
Tony Diviggiano Messages in "The Emperor's New Clothes"
1. The Emperor's vanity allows the two con men to manipulate him. They flatter him in order to deceive him into parting with his money.
The message is that vanity can lead one to make the worst of decisions and, specifically, the worst of purchases. Con artists play on people's vanity. And it's also how advertisers persuade consumers to spend money on expensive luxury items, whose beauty may be illusory.
2. The Emperor's pride prevents him from admitting that he cannot see the clothes. Such an admission would make him seem stupid, if the weavers are to be believed. He ends up deceiving himself, because his pride matters more to him than the truth of his own eyes.
The message is that pride comes before a fall. The more pride you have, the more difficult it is to admit your fallibility, and the more likely you are to allow that fallibility to influence your judgment in a bad way.
3. The Emperor's self-importance is boosted by having a whole bunch of obsequious "yes men" around him. None of these "yes men" is prepared to question his judgment and none of them is prepared to say or do anything which might damage their standing in their ruler's eyes.
The message is that, whether it be an emperor, a president, or a managing director, gathering "yes men" around a leader is a devastating prospect. If the followers of a leader are unwilling or unable to tell him the truth and stand up to him, then his detachment from reality grows and the leader's self-belief will soar to levels of conceited self-deception. If no one tells him that he is sometimes wrong, then he will believe he is always right.
4. The folly of accepting "facts" without question, results in the truth being ignored. The Emperor and courtiers believe what the weavers tell them, and the crowd believes what their leader tells them (in spite of a total lack of hard evidence). The Emperor, the courtiers, and the crowd, one after the other, all assume that the existence of the clothes is beyond doubt.
The message is that we should be critical and objective when examining "facts." Too many "facts" which we hear are, in reality, merely beliefs and opinions (or even lies, as is the case of this story). The evidence needs to be rigorously examined. Hard evidence should be what forms the basis of our "facts," or "truth," even if it results in someone arriving at a conclusion which is not universally popular or politically correct.
5. The folly of seeing beauty where no beauty exists is the direct result of collective, undue, respect for supposed experts. The fake weavers, who are enthused over their "wonderful" cloth, and the court officials who praise the invisible clothes, are no experts, yet their authenticity goes unchallenged.
The message is that we, far too often, believe that something must be good because an "expert" tells us it is. The best examples may be in the fields of popular culture, fashion and modern art, where beauty can be dressed up with "image." In the case of popular culture and fashion, it should be clear that real talent is sometimes lacking. If either was rooted in real talent, then neither would have trouble surviving changing times. Fashion, almost by definition, is transient.True talent and beauty will be recognised forever. In the case of modern art, works which require little imagination in their conception and no talent in their creation frequently sell for $1000s. The price is artificially hyped-up with pretentious pseudo-intellectual babble (in much the same way as the clothes in the story are hyped by the "expert" weavers).
6. The folly of behaving like sheep leads to the crowd living a collective lie. Even though everyone can see that the clothes do not exist, no one in the crowd is willing to stand up for the truth. It's so much easier for everyone to just go with the consensus and conform, rather than to think for themselves.
The message is that the instinct to conform and agree with the majority too often outweighs the courage to say what one actually believes. However, history has shown that the majority is not always right. If people in the crowd refuse to stand up for the truth, in the presence of a falsehood, then they will descend into a sham-society. The worst excesses of dictators have not come about when they have been forced to brutally defend themselves against a courageous opposition. The worst excesses have come when the dictator has been free to live his lies and escalate them because the majority, both in the inner circles of government (the "courtiers") and in the general public (the "crowd" lining the streets), have failed to speak out due to self-interest or fear. One need only to think about the rise of Nazi Germany, and its culmination in the holocaust, to see how true this is.
7. The child who speaks out, when no one else dares to, is at first exposed to ridicule and scorn. But eventually, the truth wins when the crowd recognises the lie which they've been a party to.
The message is that free thinking individuality and freedom from social conventions can allow the truth to emerge, even if no one else is initially prepared to admit it. This remains true to this day. The innocence of the child is like the man who can see an injustice in society to which others are blind to. The child reminds us that all of us should have the confidence to speak out. If we are later proven to be wrong, then at least we will have shown guts. But if we are right, then people will gradually appreciate the truth, and society will change for the better.
8. Even when the crowd is laughing at him, the Emperor continues his parade. To turn back would be to admit that he cannot see the clothes (which would label him as "stupid," according to the weavers) or that he realises he has been fooled by the weavers (in which case he is gullible as well as stupid). Instead, he carries on, blindly pretending that everyone else is wrong and he is right—the most stupid response of all.
The message is that one's folly is compounded when one continues the same behaviors. Rather than admit to a mistake, too many people will carry on blindly. But, as their folly is compounded, they will not be able to withdraw gracefully and humbly. Many tragedies, including wars, have occurred as the result of an insecure leader refusing to admit his ignorance.
Conclusions
If one looks behind the very simple language in the telling of this fairytale, one finds a story all about the failings of human beings—failings which have caused so much grief, hardship and sadness in the world. We can recognise the vain, proud Emperor, unsuited for the job of higher office, the pandering and obsequious henchmen, who offer uncritical support, and the crowd, who fail to recognise the truth, preferring that lies be allowed to flourish. All of these characters still exist in our current societies. We recognise them, but we do not necessarily apply the lessons that they learn to our own lives. Undoubtedly, there are lessons in "The Emperor's New Clothes" which have not been learned by all. These are the lessons, for both children and adults, that make "The Emperor's New Clothes" the most intelligent of all fairytales.
Thanks Tony, well done.
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