DEAR ABBY: There appears to be a tragic rebirth of bigotry today, here and elsewhere. And as usual, it is based on ignorance. In an old classic movie, "South Pacific" (1958), it was expressed in the lyrics of a song by Rodgers and Hammerstein:
"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!
"You've got to be carefully taught."
Abby, perhaps it's time to reprint them. -- STUART BURDICK, COOS BAY, ORE.
DEAR STUART: Long before it was made into a movie, the play "South Pacific" was a smash hit on Broadway. One of its themes, an interracial romance between an American soldier and a young Polynesian girl, was considered controversial when the play opened on April 7, 1949. The wise and insightful lyrics written by Oscar Hammerstein II ring as true today as the pre-civil rights era in which they were written. Indeed, hatred and prejudice have to be carefully taught.