“YOU’VE GOT TO BE TAUGHT”

“YOU’VE GOT TO BE TAUGHT”

 

The lyrics of a song from “South Pacific” state: “You’ve got to be taught to hate and fear … from year to year. It’s got to be drummed into your little ear. You’ve got to be carefully taught”.

So it was with Eisuke Akimatsu, who grew up in Osaka, Japan during WWII. His parents were fanatic believers in the Emporer and the warrior code of Bushido (the code of honor and morals developed by the Japanese Samurai).

His upbringing was most strict. It was constantly drummed into his head to hate Japan’s enemies, especially the United States.

When the war ended, his father felt betrayed by the Emporer. He committed ritual suicide (Seppuku or Hari-kari)! His mother continued to fuel this hate of anything or anyone American.

When he was in his late teens, Eisuke traveled with a group that toured Hawaii. He was on the craft, taking them to see the sunken U.S. battleship, Arizona.

Upon viewing the memorial, his heart swelled with pride – his forbearers had harmed the dreaded Americans!

On the return trip, the boat was occupied by an American tourist group – the members similar in age to him. The seat next to him was filled by a boy from the U.S. who had lost his father during the attack on Pearl Harbor.

He had never viewed the war from the angle that his enemies had also lost a great deal!

They started talking, which was quite difficult as neither had much grasp of the other’s language.

They made a date to meet that evening; a meeting that extended to the next few days until Eisuke had to return to Japan.

Through these conversations, both men seemed to garner a new understanding of the other’s beliefs. Eisuke could not believe how his life-long hate of Americans slowly ebbed from his consciousness. He now seemed ashamed of his past prejudice.

 

Years later, Eisuke saw the movie, ‘South Pacific’. The song, ‘You’ve Got to Be Taught’, struck a deep cord. He now comprehended how this prejudice had been drummed into his head!

The words, “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”, were passed on to Eisuke’s children just as his father had passed on the opposite thoughts to him.