From the desk of
Bill Ramey
7/26/14
COMMENTARY
& OPINION
SPECIAL
FAIRY TALE
THE EMPEROR'S NEW
CLOTHES
by
Hans Christian
Anderson
Many years ago, there lived an emperor who
was so devoted to fine new clothes that he spent all his money on elegant
attire. He took no interest whatsoever
in the army, nor did he care to attend the theater or take carriage rides
through the country, unless of course, it meant that he could show off his new
clothes. He had different garments for
every hour of the day, and, just as you usually say of a king, "He is
sitting in council", so it was always said of this emperor, "He's in
the dressing room right now!"
There were plenty of diversions in the city
where the emperor lived. Strangers were
always coming and going and one day two swindlers arrived in the city. They claimed to be weavers and said that they
knew how to weave the very finest fabrics imaginable! Not only were the colors and designs they
created unusually attractive, but the clothes made from their fabrics also had
the unique characteristic of turning invisible to anyone who was unfit for his
job or hopelessly stupid.
"I say!
Those must be wonderful clothes!" thought the emperor. "If I had some like that, I could tell
which officials were unfit for their posts, and I would also be able to
distinguish the wise ones from the foolish ones. Yes I must have some of that fabric woven for
me at once." And he paid the
swindlers a large sum of money so that they could get to work right away.
The swindlers assembled a couple of looms and
pretended to be working, though there was absolutely nothing on their
looms. They shrewdly demanded the most
delicate silk and the finest gold thread, which they promptly stowed away in their
own bags. Then they worked far into the
night on their empty looms.
"Well, now, I wonder how the weavers are
getting on with their work," the emperor asked himself. But on one point he began to feel some
anxiety, namely that someone who is stupid or unfit for his post would never be
able to see what was being woven. Not
that he had any fears about himself --- he felt quite confident on that score
--- but all the same it might be better to send someone else out first, to see
how things were progressing. Everyone in
the city had heard about the fabric's mysterious power, and they were all eager
to determine the incompetence or stupidity of their neighbors..
"I will send my able prime minister to
the weavers," the emperor thought.
"He's the obvious choice to inspect the cloth, for he has plenty of
good sense, and no one is better qualified for his post than he."
So off went the able minister to the workshop
where the two swindlers were working with all their might at the empty
looms. "Lord bless my soul",
thought the minister, with eyes starting out from his head, "Why, I can't
see a thing!"
The two swindlers begged him to take a closer
look --- didn't he find the colors and designs attractive! They pointed at the empty frames, but
although the poor minister opened his eyes wider and wider, he couldn't see a
thing, for there was nothing there. "Good Lord!" he thought, "Is
it possible that I'm an idiot? I never
once suspected it, and I mustn't let on that it is a possibility. Can it be that I'm unfit for my office? No, it will never do for me to confess that I
can't see the fabric."
"Well, what do you think of it?"
asked the chap who was pretending to be weaving.
"Oh, it's enchanting! Quite exquisite!" said the old minister,
peering over his spectacles. "What
a pattern and what coloring! I shall
report to the emperor without delay how pleased I am with it."
"Ah, we shall be much obliged to
you," said the imposers, and they described the colors and extraordinary
design in detail. The old minister
listened attentively so that he would be able to repeat their account when he
returned to the emperor --- which he duly did.
The swindlers demanded more money, more silk,
and more gold thread, which they needed to continue weaving. They put it all in their pockets --- not a
thread was put on the loom --- while they went on working the empty frames as
before.
After a while the emperor sent a second
official to see how the weaving was getting on and whether the cloth would soon
be ready. What had happened to the
minister also happened to him. He looked
as hard as he could, but since there was nothing there but an empty loom, he
couldn't see a thing.
"There, isn’t this first-rate
work?" said the swindlers, as they pointed out the beauty of the design,
which didn't even exist.
"I know I'm not stupid," thought
the man. "That can only mean that
I'm not fit for my position. Some people
will find that funny, so I'd better make sure it doesn't get out." And so he praised the cloth he could not see
and declared that he was delighted with its enchanting hues and beautiful
design. "Yes, it's quite
exquisite," he said to the emperor, when he returned.
The splendid fabric became the talk of the
town. And now the emperor himself wanted
to see it while it was still on the loom.
Accompanied by a select group of people, including the two old officials
who had already been there, he went to see the loom. The two crafty swindlers were weaving for all
they were worth without using a bit of thread.
"Look, isn't it magnificent?" said the two trustworthy officials. "If your majesty will but take a
look. What a splendid design! What glorious colors!" And they pointed at the empty loom, feeling
certain that all the others could see the cloth.
"What's this?" thought the
emperor. "I can't see a thing! This is appalling! Am I stupid?
Am I unfit to be emperor? This is
the worst thing that could happen to me…"
"Oh, it's quite enchanting!" he said to them. "It has our most gracious
approval." And he gave a satisfied
nod, as he inspected the empty loom. He wasn't
about to say that he couldn't see anything.
The courtiers who had come with him looked as hard as they could, but
they could not see any better than the others.
Still, they all said exactly what the emperor had said: "Oh, it's quite enchanting!" They advised him to have some clothes made
from this splendid new fabric and to wear them for the first time in the grand
parade that was about to take place. "Magnificent!" "Delightful!" "Superb!" were the words bandied about. Everyone was highly pleased with the weaving. The emperor knighted each of the two
swindlers and gave them badges to wear in their buttonholes, along with the
title "Imperial Weaver".
On the eve of the parade, the rogues sat up
all night with something like sixteen lighted candles. People could see how busy they were finishing
the emperor's new clothes. They
pretended to remove the cloth from the loom, snipped away at the air with huge
scissors, and stitched with needles that had no thread. Then at last they
announced, "There! The emperor's
clothes are ready at last!"
The emperor, with his most distinguished
courtiers, went in person to the weavers, who each stretched out an arm as if
holding something and said: "Just look at these trousers! Here is the jacket! This is the cloak." And so on. "They are all as light as spider
webs. You can hardly tell you are
wearing anything --- that's the virtue of this delicate cloth."
"Yes, indeed,d" the courtiers
declared. But they were unable to see a
thing, for there was absolutely nothing there.
"Now, will Your Imperial Majesty kindly
remove your clothes?" said the swindlers.
"Then we can fit you with the new ones, over there in front of the
tall mirror."
So the emperor took off the clothes he was
wearing, and the swindlers pretended to hand him each of the new garments they
claimed to have made, and they held him at the waist as if they were fastening
something on … it was his train. And the
emperor twisted and turned in front of the mirror.
"Goodness! How splendid His Majesty looks in the new
clothes. What a perfect fit!" they all exclaimed. "What a cut! What colors! What sumptuous robes!"
The master of ceremonies came in with an
announcement. "The canopy for the
parade is ready and waiting for Your Majesty."
"I am quite ready," said the
emperor. "Don't these clothes fit
well?" And he turned around one
last time in front of the mirror, for he really had to make them all believe
that he was gazing at this fine clothes.
The chamberlains who were supposed to carry
the train groped around on the floor as if they were picking it up. As they walked, they held out their hands,
not daring to let on that they couldn't see anything.
The emperor marched in the parade under the
beautiful canopy, and everyone in the streets and at the windows said:
"Goodness! The emperor's new
clothes are the finest he has ever worn.
What a beautiful train! What a
perfect fit!" They would not let on
that there was nothing at all to see, because that would have meant they were
unfit for their jobs or very stupid.
Never had the emperor's clothes made such a great impression.
"But the emperor has nothing at all on!"
a little child declared.
"Goodness gracious! Did you hear the voice of that innocent
child?" cried the father. And the
child's remark was whispered from one person to the next.
"He really isn't wearing anything at
all! There's a child here who says that
he hasn't got anything on."
"Yes, he isn't wearing anything at
all!" the people shouted at last.
And the emperor felt very uncomfortable, for it seemed to him that
everyone was right. But somehow he
thought to himself: "I must go through with it now, parade and all. And he drew himself up all the more proudly,
while his chamberlains walked after him carrying a train that wasn't there.
THE END
Has anyone noticed
the Emperor isn't wearing any clothes?
The emperor stands
naked before the whole world as one that is desperate for a war to save him
from the wrath of the bankers.
That war will begin
in all it's fury when Damascus
But the emperor's
time will have run out --- and so will America 's
and Israel
Some of the bankers
have already paid for their crimes with their lives --- evidently at the hands
of their own. The rest will follow in
the near future.
It appears we are
within weeks (if not days)
of the biggest military reversal in recorded history. It is written!
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