YOU’VE GOT TO BE 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 different 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

- Oscar Hammerstein II, You’ve Got To Be Carefully Taught

The song was controversial when it appeared in South Pacific in 1949, and there was considerable pressure to remove it from the 1958 film version. But, like all great songs, it speaks truth.

Sad truth, too - because that ol’ Careful Teaching is still going on. With new distribution channels and technology, hatemongers are now able to use music to spread their bilious message.

It’s useful to remember that we’re all just glorified Monkeys with Tools. Whether we use those tools to elevate ourselves or to roll around in the Pit o’ Shit is purely up to us. Alas, there are plenty of us who prefer Door Number 2...