Pluralistic Ignorance in Literature and Today's Society

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Recommended: Historical views of leadership

Admitting mistakes is always a hard thing to do, especially for leaders with revolutionary ideas. Sometimes these seemingly revolutionary ideas make more problems than they solve, including instilling fear in others who disagree. Using ideas to make a legacy can be great, as long as it is done the right way. Being the leaders of others doesn’t allow leaders to force their personal goals on their people, yet some still do. In the “Emperor’s New Clothes,” by Hans Anderson there is an emperor who is portrayed as obsessed with new clothes; nothing else mattered to him. “He did not trouble himself in the least about his soldiers; nor did he care to go either to the theatre or the chase, except for the opportunities then afforded him for displaying his new clothes.” (Anderson) This addiction to self interests is similar of our current president, Barrack Obama. However, the president’s interest is healthcare. Even though healthcare seems to be a selfless idea, his persistence makes it appear as if his true desire is a legacy. The emperor uses his belief in his new clothes to instill fear in his people, which leads to their pluralistic ignorance. However, President Obama never has received unconditional support for his healthcare plans, thanks to the party system. Obama’s blind followers are members in his party, who unconditionally support and belief in their President. Their desire for a legacy is honorable, but they don’t truly understand the fame their product will give them. The ability to make anything happen is a privilege leaders have, sometimes this ends badly. Both leaders, in this case the Emperor and the President, have used their privilege to create what they believe is the greatest innovation of all time. The Emperor use... ... middle of paper ... ...n more, just like two opinions on the same topic. The Emperor and his new clothes is a fair comparison to President Obama’s Affordable Care Act, not only in its development but the reason for its failure. The failure of these selfish desires of a legacy as the best dressed and greatest giver, failed because of their selfishness. Craving a legacy isn’t bad, but if it is left in the hands of others what was wanted is never right. Works Cited Andersen, H. C., and Virginia Lee Burton. The Emperor's New Clothes. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1949. Print. Strether, Lambert. "The ObamaCare Rollout, Organizational Dysfunction, and Public Relations in the Administration." Naked Capitalism RSS. N.p., 11 Nov. 2013. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. Attkisson, Sharyl. "Obamacare Website Failed in Tests Just before Launch Date." CBSNews. CBS Interactive, 30 Oct. 2013. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.

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