It was to lead you into believing the similar delusion as the author for a moment. And as the reader keeps at it; they would soon realize that something is off about this story and it finally concludes with the reader's confirmation, that the father was indeed crazy.

I am not a hundred percent sure if that story is real or fake, but the world is run in a similar theocratic to bureaucratic fashion. The delusional adults seek control of the generations so they utilize all sorts of clever deceptions and lies to ruin the lives of their subjects to maintain control. By the time anyone realizes they have been lied to, it is very late and full of missed opportunities to having enjoyed or appreciate life. The moral is to practice skepticism and discernment but the system attempts to take away those rational conclusions for the sake of enterprise and traditions, to drag-on.

So welcome to the weird world... I mean clown world. Circa 2020