Two swindlers arrive at the kingdom of an emperor who spends lavishly on clothes. They pose as weavers and offer to supply him with magnificent clothes that are invisible to those who are fools. The emperor hires them. They set up looms and start work. Officials, as well as the emperor, visit to check their progress. Each sees that the looms are empty but pretends otherwise to avoid being thought a fool.
Finally, the weavers report that the emperor's suit is ready. They mime dressing him and he sets off in a procession before the whole city. The townsfolk go along with the pretence, not wanting to appear fools, until a child blurts out that the emperor is wearing nothing at all. Everyone realizes that everyone has been fooled. However, the emperor continues the procession, walking more proudly than ever.
The Emperor's New Clothes is a literary folktale written by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. While the officials and people pretend to see the clothes that are not there in the first place, they do not have the courage that the child had to state the truth. The vanity of the Emperor is fuelled by the pretence of the people around him.
Nowadays, the virtual world of social media is merging seamlessly with the real world as the ‘likes’ and ‘dislikes’ are often just a pretence. This make-believe deceives others as well as the originators of the pretence. The only ones on solid ground are the ones who have the courage to articulate the truth.
This culture of pretence is toxic, or downright silly at best. It encourages the inner manifestation of ignorance, often leaving a deep, lingering sense of hollowness with each performance of pretence. We must put away our insecurities and take courage in aligning to open and honest discourse, lest we suffer the pitfalls of pretence.
Those who perch oft on the falsehood fence
Remember that the fall is for all in pretence!
~ Pravin K. Sabnis
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