"You've Got To Be Carefully Taught"

[babylonsister]

Some issues it seems we'll always be dealing with. How far have we come?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You've_Got_to_Be_Carefully_Taught


"You've Got to Be Carefully Taught" is a show tune from the 1949 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific.

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 6 or 7 or 8
To hate all the people
your relatives hate
You've got to be carefully taught


South Pacific received scrutiny for its commentary regarding relationships between different races and ethnic groups. In particular, "You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught" was subject to widespread criticism, judged by some to be too controversial or downright inappropriate for the musical stage.<1> Sung by the character Lieutenant Cable, the song is preceded by a lyric saying racism is "not born in you! It happens after you’re born..."

Rodgers and Hammerstein risked the entire South Pacific venture in light of legislative challenges to its decency or supposed Communist agenda. While on a tour of the Southern United States, lawmakers in Georgia introduced a bill outlawing entertainment containing "an underlying philosophy inspired by Moscow."<2> One legislator said that "a song justifying interracial marriage was implicitly a threat to the American way of life."<3> Rodgers and Hammerstein defended their work strongly. James Michener, upon whose stories South Pacific was based, recalled, "The authors replied stubbornly that this number represented why they had wanted to do this play, and that even if it meant the failure of the production, it was going to stay in."<4>

[midnight]

1. A very wonderful young person reminds me to feel the fear and

do it anyways. This next generation is so wise.

[seemslikeadream]

2. THE CROW ON THE CRADLE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Py5I8Z-aM0

[babylonsister]

3. Wow. You did an excellent job with the video, and I'd never heard

this JB song. What are we creating? And why?