Here's part of a wonderful editorial over on Huffpo (link) by Kirk Douglas, writing about the famous song in South Pacific ("You've Got to be Carefully Taught"):
I've lived a long time. Almost 97 years. I've seen a lot of fear-mongering, bigotry and discrimination. But now I'm also seeing a modern generation of children who view the world very differently than their parents and grandparents. For them, no amount of teaching will make them hate people simply because they're different. That gives me hope.
Kirk Douglas made some great movies (and some not so great -- avoid
The Vikings).
Here's the actor himself, a few years ago, talking about his favorite, and mine too, Lonely Are The Brave:
Many of Douglas's films focused on the stand of the individual against an insensitive system. He purchased the rights to produce One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and played the role of R.P. McMurphy in a 1963-64 stage production. He produced and starred in the classic anti-war film, Paths of Glory.
I read a lot about how this country is in terrible shape and getting worse. We've got problems, that's for sure. But surely we don't face the dangers of Kirk Douglas's generation, and if he has hope, then we should too.