Any Colour

Detroit 1922. In his memoirs Henry Ford wrote
what was to become the most repeated quote
-  or rather an often mentioned paraphrase -
that was not received with scorn, but praise.

 I recollect that strange statement to a tee
about the launch of his first car, the ‘model T’:
“You can have any colour as long as it is black.”
There’s no doubt he had the salesman’s knack.

His political views were coloured by the same hue;
he published a book, “The International Jew”,
in which the opinions were highly impolitic
and its distorted ‘facts’ distinctly anti-Semitic.

The Dearborn Independent, his publication,
reflected the bias of the American nation.
Every crisis, or slump, provided the excuse
to apportion the blame on all the Jews.

It was believed he had a strong conviction
but years later he showed some contrition.
He accused his editorial staff of causing harm
and tried to wriggle out without any qualm.

© Luigi Pagano 2015