To the Editor:

Once upon a time, in a little town named Westerlo, I read a fairy tale titled, “The Emperor’s New Clothes.” If you are not familiar with it, I suggest you delve into reading it. The reading is short, approximately five pages.

Although a fairy tale, in my opinion, I associate it as being symbolic of the political arena of all levels of government.

The tale, itself, is based around an emperor who loved clothes and he was obsessed with spending all of his money on them. One day he was approached by two unsavory strangers.

Their plan was to deceive the emperor through their dishonest procedures in an attempt to gain great wealth. Basically, they were slick con artists, promoting their cloth of — “nothing.” They delivered a great sales pitch.

The transference of dishonesty spread like a contagious disease. One fool after another fell into this trap. Lie after lie grew among the multitude of followers. Vanity and pride seemed to be at the root of foolish behavior, along with greed and, of course, stupidity and shrewdness.

The imaginary wardrobe was invisible. An emperor and his kingdom were duped and became followers of a system that was overflowing with schemes.

One voice of a young child gained the attention of the crowd with his observation of the emperor’s appearance. He recognized the truth and stated the truth.

Those in the crowd reversed their original position and finally saw the truth, but the proud emperor, in all his glory, continued to walk and travel his path of ignorance. The emperor was caught in his own trap and paraded himself as the biggest fool of all.

My conclusion: Independent thinkers are more observant and objective than crowd followers who could opt to be fools. Nothing stays invisible forever, especially the truth. Determination, just by one individual, can result in transparency for many.

Anita Marrone

Westerlo