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The Emperor’s New Clothes: 2020 Edition
How a classic folktale is being played out in the Oval Office
Somedays, I feel like we are living in an episode of The Twilight Zone. Between the pandemic, the racial unrest, and the 2020 election, it doesn’t seem possible that this is real life. And the social division around each issue falls firmly along political lines. How is it possible that masks are political?
As I’ve watched news stories and read news articles in the last few weeks, I had another thought. I think that we are living through the 2020 revival of A classic folktale. The Emperor’s New Clothes was always a fun story to read. How did the Emperor not realize he was being tricked? And why did it take a child to point out that he had no clothes?
The story, written by Hans Christian Andersen in 1837, has been analyzed by authors and philosophers and is subject to many different interpretations. For me, the moral of the story is that we shouldn’t let pride get in the way of the truth. If something seems unbelievable, it probably is. And, if you feel that a leader is manipulating followers, you should say something.
I have previously disclosed that I voted for Donald Trump in 2016. At the time, I thought I understood what this vote would mean. I had always believed in capitalism and admired the…
