"You’ve Got To Be Carefully Taught" … to hate

In 1949 Rodgers and Hammerstein produced a musical called “South Pacific”, starring Mary Martin. It became a hit but received much scrutiny for its commentary regarding relationships between different races and ethnic groups. Some legislators actually implied that interracial marriage was an implicit threat to the “American way of life.”

I would like to believe that things have improved since 1949 but it was with a heavy heart that I watched the news last Wednesday and realized that very little has changed. A 21 year old boy who stopped going to school after the ninth grade, had few (if any) friends, and spent most of his days in his bedroom suddenly takes matters in his own hands and goes on a hate filled killing rampage. It made me think of the words in “South Pacific” that state: “racism in not born in you! It happens after you’re born” , followed by this song “You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught” :

“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!”

I still get chills just reading those lyrics.

Hatred is still alive and rampant in our nation but my hope is that the newborn babies of today will be more carefully taught … not to hate but to accept, embrace and love those with differences. I know that is naïve but I hate to see what will happen to us if we fail to heed the warning.