One wonders what Hans Christian Andersen’s world looked like when he wrote The Emporer’s New Clothes. Ok, maybe just me… I’ve been wondering.

Surrounding stories come to mind. Ugly Duckling is rather universal, as all find themselves out of some crowd at some point in their lives. How beautiful to be told that there’s something special that they’ve not discovered yet.  Little Match Girl is a social wake-up call like Oliver Twist, but shorter and more palatable for children. The Tin Soldier finds a one-legged equal until he discovers she’s a ballerina in a pose. Little Mermaid tells of her wanting to be different than she is.

This takes us back to the emporer and the fabulous fabric that cannot be seen by those unworthy of their station. A whole empire of adults are frightened into lauding their emporer as he goes on parade wearing nothing but his curls. A child dares to speak the obvious, and since she clearly can’t be unworthy of her station as a child, the rest of the empire finally admits that they’ve been duped, emporer included. The tailors laughed all the way to the bank.

This is what leads me to ask what Andersen’s world looked like. What obvious untruth was so prevalent and logic-squashing that he wrote such a tale? In our day, there are several, and those cashing in on them are myriad. Whole industries have grown up to support and/or refute the popular narratives.

Meanwhile, people who prefer to look at all the available options & discuss them to determine truth are frightened into silence. Either that, or they’re too busy living their lives to attend the emporer’s parade. These people simply want to drink a beer, eat a sandwich, buy some household supplies, and chill with a movie without worrying which side of the street they’re standing on. Instead, almost every cup of coffee comes with an ideological cup holder.

Was this what Hans Christian Andersen saw in his world? I almost hope so, as it suggests we’ll eventually get back to commerce being about a product and a price.

Now could someone give the emporer a shawl, please?