You have to be taught

Image: Children in the Madang area of Papua New Guinea.


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You’ve got to be carefully taught

What is this song from the musical South Pacific saying? At the time (1949) it caused quite a stir. Can you explain why?

Listen to it here
and also here.


Here are the lyrics

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!

Here is the background to the song.


Do you agree with what the song is saying?