” But he isn’t wearing anything at all!” Excerpt from the tale “The Emperor’s New Clothes” written by Danish author Hans Christian Anderson published in 1837. To refresh your memory about this tale, two weavers strike a deal with a vain emperor to make him a new suit of clothes.The emperor is told that the clothes are invisible to those who are stupid, incompetent or unfit for their positions.- “while in reality they (the weavers) make no clothes at all.” “When the emperor parades before his subject in his new “clothes”, no one dares to say that they do not see any suit of clothes on him for fear that they will be seen as stupid.” Finally a child cries out, “But he isn’t wearing anything at all!” (source Wikipedia)
It is too obvious with today’s news cycle why I could not resist to revisit Mr Anderson’s fairy tale. Keeping in mind my stated goal of personal reflection and growth based on my love of reading and literature, I choose to lean against this metaphorical “Lighthouse”,“The Emperor’s New Clothes”.
Approximately twenty years after Anderson published this tale, Henry David Thoreau was reflecting himself, at Walden Pond. Writing copiously over a two year time span on many subjects; he focused his attention on his love of reading. “My residence was more favorable not only to thought , but to serious reading,”…….”I had more than ever come within the influence of those books which circulate round the world whose sentences were first written on bark and are now merely copied in linen paper.“(source Waldon or Life in the Woods)
Fast forward to today February 27, 2019. I highly recommend Thomas L. Friedman’s Book, “Thank You for Being Late”. I am not going to attempt to outline most of his work as it is a full course meal with many servings. I will say this, Mr Friedman highlights how innovations are accelerating because of technological advancement. Critical thinkers willing to share and work together regardless of any of their back grounds has helped accelerate this change. (Diversity on a grand scale.) Mr Friedman enlightens his readers to understand the difference between the strength of polycultures versus the weakness of monocultures. He states that monocultures” become susceptible to conspiracy theories and diseased ideas.“Mr. Friedman follows with the examples of the monocultures of ISIS and Al Qaeda. Thomas Friedman adds the Republican Party to the example of how it used to be a polyculture. “But in recent years the Tea Party and other hyperconservative forces, also funded in large part by fossil fuel companies and oil billionaires, have tried to wipe out the Republican Party’s rich polyculture and turn it into a monoculture that’s enormously susceptible to diseased ideas: climate change is a hoax; evolution never happened; we don’t need immigration reform. All this opened the way for invasive species such as”…. “to invade its garden.” (italics source, Thank You for Being Late)
Wow, I end here with the obvious of why Mr. Anderson’s tale is my lighthouse today. However my intuition leads me to add the Democratic Party to the example of a poltical party also becoming more and more “monocultural”. Republicans to the right Democrats more and more to the left.
Reminds me of the first political party I belonged to in elementary school. The “Prepubestic” Party. My mother enrolled me in ball room dancing lessons held in the school cafeteria I believe, once a week. Picture if you will all us members ( boys) of the “Prepubestic Party” sitting in chairs lined against a wall facing the other party (girls) all belonging to the “Demthatstareatus” Party. The girls staring across the empty dance floor while sitting in their chairs. Ironic that someone had to loudly say to us don’t be shy stand up, move away from your wall, and let’s all learn the “Mexican Hat Dance” together!
The dance floor in Congress is empty. The little girl in Han’s Christian Anderson’s tale is needed again to remind everyone of the obvious. Unfortunately now though it isn’t just “He who would be King” who needs the reality check, it is all members of Congress who need one too!
Intuition, empathy, and true compassion is for me a compromise daily!
Thank you for reading.
Mark