The author reflects on the difficulty of April Fools’ Day, when people are tricked into believing their perceptions are proven wrong. He argues that the oldest fool in Western literature is the Emperor, a man so insiduous by flattery and eager for approval that he confers on the truth. The author argues that this is a sign that it's our responsibility not to be fooled. He suggests that a culture profits from expediting the truth by claiming the clearest truth before the facts have settled, leading to a permanent April of the mind where institutions have been hollowed out by vanity and neglect. The Danes, Norwegians, and Swedes who settled in Minnesota have a cultural preference for self-regard, rejecting the notion that self-centeredness is more self-serving than self-congratulatory behavior. However, the author acknowledges that mistakes can be made when accuracy is made, rather than justifiable, and the author suggests that the focus on the facts is on the Emperor.