You've got to be carefully taught

i was listening to npr's morning edition with scott simon this morning... and, yes, i confess, listening to npr in buenos aires does somewhat defeat the purpose of being out of the country... anywayz... i don't remember the context in which it was played, but scott played some of the opening stanzas from a song that had made a big impact on me as a child that i hadn't heard in many years... hearing it again, i understand better than i could have imagined just how strong a message it carries...

from the 1949 rodgers and hammerstein musical, south pacific...

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!

this seems to be a particularly appropriate post given the "be afraid, be very afraid" news about our latest terrorist threat that emerged yesterday...

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