Fighting "Carefully Taught” Discrimination
WASHINGTON- U.S. Representative Mike Quigley (IL-05) says you have to be "carefully taught to discriminate against race, sexual orientation or citizenship, but lawmakers have a responsibility to impart a philosophy of tolerance that embraces differences.
Below is a video and a transcript of this speech:
Mister Speaker,
I don't believe that anyone is born with an inclination to hate, but sometimes, even in the year 2013, it's easy to forget. Not one of us begins this life hating that which is different. Not one of us begins this life fearing those who are different than ourselves. As children we recognize differences; we wonder about them and question why. But as children we don't hate or fear. People must learn to hate. You've got to be taught to hate and fear. Carefully taught.
In the second act of the great play, South Pacific, Lieutenant Joe Cable sings a song about racial prejudice entitled, "You've Got to Be Carefully Taught. The lyrics of the song confront prejudice at its core, explaining the simple truth that discrimination is not inherent, it's imposed. Imposed by others who once had it imposed upon them in a vicious cycle of prejudice and fear.
Discrimination plays a role in our daily lives. One isn't born with an inherent aversion to those of a different skin tone. One has to be taught to fear a young, unarmed black man in a hoodie. One has to be taught to fear minorities voting. You've got to be carefully taught.
I also believe discrimination plays a role in opposition to same-sex marriage. One isn't born thinking gay people should be treated differently than straight people. One has to be taught to fear equality for all. You've got to be carefully taught.
Discrimination has played a role in our immigration policy from the late 19th century to today, but people aren't naturally hostile to those who speak a different language or come from a different place. They had to be taught to fear the Dreamers who are American in all but citizenship or their parents who risked their lives to make a better life for their children. You've got to be carefully taught.
When the South Pacific debuted in 1949, the song, "You've Got to Be Carefully Taught, almost didn't make the cut. Rodgers and Hammerstein were told the song was too controversial, too preachy, too inappropriate for the musical stage. The song was so controversial that some cities in the deep South would not allow the musical to be played on their stages. Lawmakers in Georgia even tried to outlaw such entertainment with one legislator arguing that "a song justifying interracial marriage was implicitly a threat to the American way of life. But Rodgers and Hammerstein insisted the song be sung because it told the truth. And nothing combats fear better than the truth.
South Pacific premiered more than a half century ago, yet its lessons of the song are perhaps even more relevant today. We have come a long way since the Jim Crow era, but the truth is that discrimination, while perhaps not as blatant, is alive and well. Despite all the progress we've made, we are still taught to be fearful of differences, to discriminate against those of a different race or gender or background or sexual orientation. And we tragically, although sometimes unknowingly, allow that discrimination to influence our actions. And it's those actions, whether on a street corner in Florida or here on the floor of the House of Representatives, that teach yet another generation to hate and fear.
As lawmakers, we have a responsibility to root out discrimination, to impart upon a new generation a philosophy of tolerance and to embrace our differences. By confronting discrimination head on, we can finally stop the vicious cycle of prejudice and fear.
Nelson Mandela said it best:
"People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.
You've got to be carefully taught, Mister Speaker. And the teaching must begin in our hearts and with our children.
I yield back. 