When I was a very young girl, I was fascinated by Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale, “The Emperor’s New Clothes.”

Remember the story? A vain Emperor, who cares about nothing except displaying his wealth and wearing fine clothes, hires two weavers who promise him the finest, best suit of clothes made from a magical fabric that is invisible to anyone who is unfit, or “hopelessly stupid.”

The Emperor parades around in his “new clothes,” actually wearing nothing but his underwear, and everyone is afraid to tell him the truth for fear they will be branded as “stupid.” Finally, an innocent young child watching the procession reveals the truth. “He’s not wearing any clothes at all!”

I think the United States of America could use that innocent and honest young child today, because there are many individuals vying for the position of “Emperor” who are attempting to convince the American public that we are stupid because we cannot see the magical fabrics they are wearing––fabrics that are full of empty promises, unworkable solutions, and lies that feed the secret desires of selfish people. Fabrics that are, actually, nonexistent.

I’m not going to name names, because I don’t want to be sued for libel or defamation of character. (However, I recently read that people in celebrity positions cannot sue for libel. Apparently, being a celebrity makes a person “fair game.”) But I’m sure the few people who read my blogs know of whom I speak.

Yesterday I received a call from a university on the East Coast that is doing a survey of the American public, hoping to gather data about pubic opinion regarding the upcoming presidential election. Whenever a question on the survey requested my opinion about the candidates who are, in my opinion, wearing the Emperor’s New Clothes, I would burst into laughter. I found out that the opinion poll surveyor felt exactly as I did, but had never voiced his feelings. So I asked him, “Why are people continuing to support these individuals who are so obviously NOT qualified to lead the greatest country in the free world?” He had no answer.

No one knows the answer . . . except maybe it’s that a vast majority of the people has been convinced that the Emperor IS wearing new clothes, or at least they have a meager hope that he is (they are). But those of us who are NOT stupid know the truth.

If you have studied the origins of fairy tales, you know that these stories we read to our children are actually morality plays that were written to teach valuable lessons. They were usually parodies of the political machinations that were going on in the authors’ countries at the time. Those authors––like so any of us in the present situation––were afraid to speak out and tell the Emperors that they weren’t wearing any clothes at all. So, they told their truths in the children’s stories they broadcast throughout the community.

Therefore, as an author, I urge you to take a good look at what’s going on, and ask yourself, “Is it politics…or another fairy tale?”