My Favorite Fairy Tale

The Emperor's New Clothes
This is my favorite fairy tale because it celebrates a childlike innocence, an air not caring what others think. The King, and in turn all of his subjects, believe (or pretend to believe) in the "robes." The King is worried that if he admits he cannot see anything, he will be thought of as unworthy of his crown, while his subjects, all hoping to please him and prove their greatness, claim to see it too. Only a child, who is young enough to not realize the implications of such events, proclaims the obvious: the king is naked. There is a lesson here about group thinking, which, while it may seem impossible, is really not that unheard of (see: Hitler, Kim Jong-il, etc.). When everyone agrees, it can be very dangerous to disagree. But, like any good fairy tale, the astute child is not punished, but lives happily ever after.
Another aspect I like about this story is that the Lake Woebegone effect is present, in a way. By believing that every other person could see the cloak, each individual was falling into the trap that this effect can have. For everyone to be able to see the clothes would be for everyone to be fit for their position (i.e. above average). If the King examined this claim, he would be very happy, because if everyone could actually see these robes, that would mean every single one of his subjects was fit for his position.

Note: Blog posts are due every Sunday night around 9, so check back in each week for something new. Maybe I will put up a schedule sometime. Depends how lazy I am.