The Emperor Has No Clothes
by Sarah Guyer"The emperor has no clothes on." Most of you know this line from the famous children's tale, "The Emperor's New Clothes" by Hans Christian Anderson. The story begins by introducing the emperor, who loved expensive clothes. One day, two tricksters came into town and told everyone, "We make magnificent cloth, but stupid people and people who are not good at their jobs cannot see it." Well, of course the emperor wanted some of this fine cloth. The tricksters worked for days. Well, acted like they were working. During those days, the emperor would send one of his trusted advisors down to see how the work was progressing. Well, of course they could never see it, but they acted like they could, afraid to be thought of as stupid or useless for their jobs. Finally, the emperor's new clothes were finished. He went to go see them, but surprise, surprise, saw nothing. Horrified, the emperor was determined to keep this knowledge to himself. He walked down the streets of his kingdom, while the footmen acted like they were holding onto the train of his coat. People all around cheered and spoke about how magnificent the clothes were, everyone acting like they saw the cloth. Finally the emperor walked past a little boy, who simply stated, "But the emperor has on nothing at all!" All of a sudden, everyone began laughing, for the little boy was right. The little boy had the courage to point out the truth.
The first night we discussed what our topic for today's service was going to be, I had just come from Quiznos sandwich shop for dinner with my family. When we were there, my dad ordered a sandwich and asked for sweet peppers on it.
Well, they made the sandwich and he tasted it. Instead of sweet peppers, they were hot peppers. He went up to the guys working there and said, "These are hot peppers, not sweet peppers. I asked for sweet peppers."
And the man said, "No, those are sweet peppers. No one else has ever had a problem with them."
I tasted the sandwich and, surely enough, they were hot peppers.
This is what I had first decided to speak about: How many times in life do we notice something wrong and ignore it for convenience’s sake and just to avoid confrontation? How often are we afraid to say, "The emperor has no clothes"?
Many of us can think of examples in our everyday lives when people are afraid to point out the truth or expose lies because they are trying to fit in. People are often afraid to say, "The emperor has no clothes on.” Even if it is just a sandwich that is prepared wrong, ignoring something can also affect issues that are a whole lot bigger and worldwide.
All over the world, there are issues that someone needs to say, "The emperor has no clothes. Something is wrong here."
- The truth about AIDS in Africa.
- The treatment of women in the Middle East.
- The poverty that is occurring all over our world, and even in our own country.
Sometimes it is even within ourselves that we are afraid to point out the truth. And sometimes the hesitation and unwillingness to step up can seriously affect the lives of people around us.
In my health class this past week, we were talking about the signs and symptoms of someone who is considering suicide. My teacher explained that often friends see the signs but are afraid of being wrong and embarrassing themselves, just as the people in the story were. " The Emperor's New Clothes" is really about bravery. You have to have courage to say what is wrong. You have to have the courage to stand up and maybe embarrass yourself.
As Unitarians Universalists, we don't have the fierce dogma and structure of other religions. But we do have seven principles that bring us together.
Whenever one of our advisors asks us if we know the seven principles, we always seem to remember the first and last. The first is "the inherent worth and dignity of every person" and the last is "respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.”
These two principles seem very different: one deals with the person and the other addresses the group. However, I believe that by being part of this web of interconnectedness, it is my responsibility to respect and stand up for the individual. In short, we are all responsible for the welfare of everyone.
If we are responsible for everyone, then are we really fulfilling our duties as Unitarian Universalists if we don't speak up? If we aren't willing to say, "Hey, the emperor has no clothes on," can we truly call ourselves Unitarians?
I ask everyone here to have the courage to speak up next time they see something wrong. If we are only trying to fit in, as the people in the story were, then no one will ever speak up, will they? We believe in the inherent worth and dignity of every person and that means that everyone should be able to speak up.
I believe that by being a Unitarian Universalist (UU) youth it is even more of our responsibility.
In "The Emperor's New Clothes," it is a young boy who ultimately shouts out the truth. Maybe it is up to the youth of today to do that same thing. Maybe it is time for us to shout out the truth about AIDS in Africa and the horrors that women in the Middle East face everyday.
Already, companies like MTV have created programs and websites where teens can learn more about AIDS and the effect of it all over the world. Last November, musicians asked their young audience to go out and vote. The campaign was called "Vote or Die". This past summer, musicians also participated in Live 8, which pushed for wealthy countries to give money to Africa.
In the story, I wonder what happens next? I wonder what my generation will be able to accomplish? It is not enough to expose the truth and to take a stand even if it is unpopular. We have to be willing to give our time and our energy. When kids at school help to serve food in a food shelter or help with Habitat for Humanity or participate in a project for Journey Home like our youth groups are going to do tonight, we are making our own small attempt at making the world a better place. The Emperor may have no clothes on and it took a little boy to point that out. I hope that my generation will able to follow suit and have the courage to say, "The emperor has no clothes on."
For more information contact youth @ uua.org.
Last updated on Friday, April 18, 2008.
