Emotional forces blind the mind and ingrain unquestioning belief in what they, deep down, want or need to believe. Word spread from his palace that only competent and loyal citizens would be able to see and enjoy his finery. They all, dependent on his government for their jobs and food, believed everything he said. So, when the emperor appeared at his parade, his new clothes not completed and wearing only his underwear, citizens lining both sides of the street nevertheless loudly cheered the emperor's new clothes.
Kids laugh when told the hilarious ending.
But all the small child did was to say honestly what was obvious for all to see - if they chose to or could. Freedom-minded adults, keenly aware of the history of totalitarian governments, will recognize the ominous human flaw deftly satirized in the tale. He added that he walked the streets of the city and never heard a word of English. They first target the minds of the young, to mold them, get control of all schools, orchestrate what is taught and thus grow politically correct adults. Thoroughly indoctrinated by DOE-controlled and racially integrated schools, brainwashed adults reinforce politically correct orthodoxy and, even in a democracy, vote to sustain the same central totalitarian system which trained them.