The proverb “Seeing is believing” suggests that direct visual evidence is the strongest form of proof and that witnessing something will lead us to believe it.
And yet, the phrase “Believing is seeing” suggests that our beliefs can shape our perception of the world so that we see what we expect or what we have been told to see.
“The Emperor’s New Clothes” is a tale that illustrates this, where everyone follows the crowd and confirms and conforms with the illusion that the Emperor is wearing a suit of fine new robes when in fact, he is stark naked.
The first to speak up is a small boy who shouts the truth he sees because he has yet to learn to conform and to fear the consequences of not doing so.
For most of us, it is hard to speak up first because we like the safety of the crowd, even if the crowd itself is unsafe because it is going in the wrong direction, like rats following the Pied Piper.
The moral of “The Emperor’s New Clothes” is that it’s important to speak the truth and to trust your own judgement even when it means going against the prevailing opinion.
And, when we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.
If you have the feeling that something is wrong, don’t be afraid to speak up.
– Fred Korematsu –Speak up, because the day you don’t speak up for the things that matter to you is the day your freedom truly ends.