Jesters Needed

It seems that there has always been tension between those in power and those who speak the truth. Spinning tall tales and half-truths are part of the repertoire of those seeking to gain or keep power. In the unpopular 1960s Vietnam War, the US likely misread the Vietnamese as a Soviet-aligned threat when it started as a colonial rebellion against the French.  But we pushed on regardless.  Two of the most powerful anti-war voices of the time were low key television folk musicians, the Smothers Brothers.  With brother Tommy acting clueless about world events, he would say and sing teasing jests at those in charge of the US and the war. His songs and jokes were effective in energizing and mobilizing public opinion against the war.

Today we need some new court jesters to not only point out the foolish and destructive nature of wars but also to callout the anti-science positions of those in executive power in the U.S.

Societies rely on cultural figures like jesters, poets, and storytellers to speak uncomfortable truths when political power pressures institutions like science to conform. Truth often shines when disguised as laughter and song.

Storyteller Hans Christian Anderson’s tale, “The Emperor's New Clothes," tells the story of an emperor who is led to believe that he is wearing magical clothes only visible to the wise. Fearing the emperor’s wrath and social nonconformity, everyone pretends to see them. But a child finally tells the truth. The child is simply telling what he sees, without the social and institutional pressures that silence the adults.

The Emperor's New Clothes is a metaphor for societies that are willing to collectively ignore obvious reality. Reality like last week’s approval of BP drilling oil wells in the deep sea in the Gulf of Mexico. Sound familiar? This latest ultra-deepwater well, Kaskida, will be located in water over 1 mile deep where it will face both extreme pressure and temperature conditions while relying on still-emerging technology.  Have they forgotten the Deepwater Horizon oil spill of 2010 that released almost 5 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, coating over 1,300 miles of coastline in 5 states?  And that’s no joke.

Unfortunately, our political system is recreating “Emperor” dynamics when fact-based evidence is ignored. When science becomes politically inconvenient, officials are giving in to the pressure to pretend the emperor is clothed. The science-based evidence functions like the child in Anderson’s story—it states observable reality. We now have the need for new songs about fossil fuel’s threatening the environment and health effects ranging from drilling to refining to shipping and eventually to burning it.  We especially need to consider it is doing to our atmosphere.

We still have a few high profile, late-night society truth-tellers and jesters like Jon Steward, Stephen Colbert, Bill Maher, and Jimmy Kimmel who are willing to speak truth to power.  We will all have the opportunity to see some of our local, next-generation jesters next Wednesday at the Firehouse Center for the Arts.   Steve Sweeney, legendary Boston comedian, and some of his fellow funny folks will likely throw a few jokes our way about the anti-science mindlessness of the current Washington zeitgeist. Expect a few clever words and some truth telling if you choose to go. And it’s on April Fool’s Day to boot.

But our communities also need fact filled journalism, science, and art that expresses the truths in human terms. Supporting these people and institutions collectively helps prevent the emperor effect - a system where everyone fears stating the obvious. And more than ever society needs jesters and artists with the courage to speak plainly. America needs someone willing to say what others see but refuse to admit. Jesters laugh, poets imagine, scientists measure but all share a common duty: to tell truth to power when it would rather hear praise.

Our call to action to environmentalists this week is to seek out political climate-oriented comics strips, jokes, and music to share with friends as a way for you to speak truth to power.

Also share some of them on ACES’ website https://www.aces-alliance.org/. Please consider joining our community of stewards committed to Make Every Day Earth Day and subscribe to our Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/acesalliancenbpt/ and Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/ACESAlliance/  pages.

This educational column was originally published by The Daily News of Newburyport on March 27, 2026.