by Rudyard Kipling
(An excerpt – read the whole poem here)
All good people agree,
And all good people say,
All nice people, like Us, are We
And every one else is They:
But if you cross over the sea,
Instead of over the way,
You may end by (think of it!) looking on We
As only a sort of They!
Even though this poem was written in 1926, I only found it recently. Another blogger shared it along with the experience of discussing it with her class of students. (I wish I could remember whose blog it was because I’d love to give her credit. If it was yours please let me know so I can provide a link!)
It strikes me for two reasons. First, I love its message. I know it sounds trite, but I’ve long felt that if the world could get past a we/they, or “other” mentality, many of our problems could be solved. Differences, of course, exist, but when they are used to separate and divide, they become, well, divisive. It starts when we’re kids – between boys and girls, classes, schools, teams – and we’re hooked. Just listen to the rhetoric in our society today and it’s easy to hear it doesn’t go away when we grow up – politics, religion, public policy – “we” and “they” is heard everywhere. It often makes us feel as though we have to choose sides – left or right, conservative or liberal, public or charter, life or choice, religious or spiritual – the list could go on and on.
It seems to me, however, that who we are – a “we” or a “they” – is very much determined by where we are born. Just as Kipling writes, geography accounts for much of our perspective – our politics, our religion, our race, our economic situation, our opportunity for education, our experience with gender – I’m sure you can think of more. We don’t have to be separated by an ocean to see an “other.” They can be in another state, another town, or next door. Rudyard Kipling gets this. Better yet, he conveys it in convicting language.
The second reason I love this poem is for its timelessness. In 1926, the United States was changing drastically. Immigrants were still streaming into the country, people were migrating to the north and west of the country, and urban cities were growing dramatically. Kipling’s words held great significance at the time he wrote them, but no less today. We’re taught in history classes that America is a melting pot, but we have a long history of not being very welcoming to “them.” I wonder what the world would look like if there was no we and they. Would it be better? Or is it something that is necessary?
~mwe
Oh my where do I begin? As the daughter of a Dutchman born and raised in Mexico folks are definitely floored when I open my mouth and the Spanish comes out…”You don’t look it” is a very common reaction, whatever “it” is supposed to be. I think I will stop here. But will leave with one more thought. Remember the song from “South Pacific”…”You’ve Got To Be Carefully Taught”?
So true, Georgette. I just finished the book, “The Help”. It drives home the very same point.
Great poem–thanks for sharing. The sentiment is what we all need to remember, especially since it is so easy, so human, to feel more comfortable with the familiar, and thereby somehow skeptical or fearful of the unknown or different. We need to remember that our differences are what makes us similar, really. We are all “they” and “we,” right? Kurt Vonnegut wrote a great forward to Free to Be You and Me, the kids’ book–saying we all need to realize things are done differently elsewhere. Good lesson.
Wow .. Kurt Vonnegut? I had that book and record (yes, record) as a kid and LOVED it. Marlo Thomas and Mel Brooks were on it. I listened to it and sang the songs constantly. I’ll have to check it out again because apparently my 8 year old self totally missed Vonnegut 🙂
“Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind.”
“All the people like us are we, and everyone else is They.”
Kipling is an amazing author. Similarly, I would recommend “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee if you haven’t done so already.
Oh yes, that’s great, too. I read it a long time ago. My daughter is reading it for school this summer – I think I’ll read it again with her.
Kipling is timeless.
I agree.
Leaving the Midwest 4 years ago has been an eye-opener. Back in Iowa, we were all just folks who happened to live there. The West coast is such a conglomerate that no one cared where you came from, only that you came. Texas – well, Texas is a WE state and you’re a Yankee if you’re an Okie. Minnesota was a WE state, too. Odd. Love the poem. Nice, thought provoking post. I’ll try to keep a record of how many we’s and they’s I mentally tag this week. I’m afraid I won’t be thrilled with the results.
That should be interesting. I think I would find the same.
Thought-provoking indeed. Thinking that today’s divide might also include the “we” bloggers and the “they” who don’t get it.
Excellent poem. Jeremy Rifkin’s speech to the RSA talks about our journey as empathic creatures and how we define “we” -i.e. first by blood ties, then by religious ties, then by the nation state. He asks with our ability to communicate globally, is it really that far of a reach to extend our empathic ties to the human race and the biosphere we depend on. Fascinating lecture, here’s a link for the 10 minute clip that hits the highlights:
http://comment.rsablogs.org.uk/2010/05/06/rsa-animate-empathic-civilisation/
Fantastic link – thank you! I hadn’t yet come across his work, but I’ll be looking into it more. It’s very much like Tonnies’ idea of Gemeinschaft, which didn’t even occur to me as I was writing this post. Thanks again for helping me see more of this idea!
I ran across the RSA site over a year ago – their RSA Animate section is great for sharing quick overviews of the wonderful speeches presented at RSA. Hope you had time to view some of the other ones – Haven’t seen one yet that didn’t really bring into focus issues of the day and possible perspectives or insight into working together to find solutions –
Glad you enjoyed as much as I did!
follow ups
Kipling is one of my favorite authors… and this is one of the many reasons. Thank you for inviting Kipling to your page!
(I invited him to tea… but he was, unfortunately, deceased. I was eight. I didn’t know.)
~m