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.
Caste is NOT the way things must be. We can choose not to teach caste.
"Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents", the best selling book by Isabel Wilkerson, is a chilling
depiction of how, among other things, the Nazis ( and for those who are against
socialism, don’t forget that Nazi is a nickname for “National Socialism")
modeled their own caste system after the successful caste system in the United
States. The success of any caste system, where only a few can occupy the top
rung, depends on convincing a majority that the ladder system of caste is the way things
should be, and that everyone should stay in their place. Those in the middle
rungs accept the caste system because they are promised to be above those in
lower rungs.
The lower rungs in the caste system in the United States appear to be reserved for: women,
indigenous people, African Americans, immigrants, LGBTQ+, Hispanics, Asians, the
disabled, etc. While the Amendments to the U. S. Constitution have attempted to
grant rights to many of these groups, it is the caste system itself, not the
rights that the caste system bestows, that should be in question.
Before teaching or accepting the caste system, it is important for society to ask why there is a
caste system at all? Does the existence of a caste system, which excludes the
contributions of those on the lower rungs, advance the interests of society? Is
violence against those who challenge elements of the caste system order,... or
brutality?
Those on the lowest rungs will soon outnumber those on the higher
rungs. Does anyone seriously expect that the caste system will continue under
these conditions? It is in the best interest of society that the caste system in the United States be
immediately discontinued and no longer taught.
