You've got to be taught
To hate and fear,
You've got to be taught
From year to year,
It's got to be drummed
In your dear little ear
You've got to be carefully taught.
You've got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made,
And people whose skin is a diff'rent shade,
You've got to be carefully taught.
You've got to be taught before it's too late,
Before you are six or seven or eight,
To hate all the people your relatives hate,
You've got to be carefully taught
Interesting that Rogers and Hammerstein wrote this in 1949, and here we are nearly 60 years later and some people still haven't learned. Or maybe they've learned too well.
tagged: race, prejudice, South Pacific, Rogers and Hammerstein
Sad but true, my friend. Sometimes it seems like we are going further backward rather than forward.
ReplyDeleteAndy Warhol once said "They say that time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself."
You're so right. I see parents all the time who teach their children their own prejudices. It makes my stomach turn to hear them make statements like that within earshot of their kids.
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