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Mister Rogers: Your Neighborhood Lives On In Our Hearts

By KUHT [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons
Every now and then, someone comes along who is truly beyond compare in what they give to our world.  Even in our corporate society’s ravenous quest for more money, the qualities and accomplishments of some things or people are so singular that they have not yet been duplicated.  This is certainly true in the case of Fred Rogers, better known to the world as Mister Rogers.

Millions of kids in my generation grew up with Mister Rogers.  Even though most of us only knew him through a TV screen, his incredible love for us surged right through that barrier.  As he constantly told all children, “You are special,” “There is no one else in the whole world exactly like you.”  He seemed to understand all of our feelings and let us know that it was okay to feel what we felt, even if it was fear, anger, shyness – anything at all.  That was just part of kids being themselves.

And interestingly, though Mister Rogers has now been gone for 14 years, no attempt has been made to replace him, not even by PBS.  The closest thing now might be Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, a cartoon reincarnation of Rogers’ beloved puppet characters from his magical land of make-believe. 

What Mister Rogers would think of his puppets being reduced to cartoons is another matter.  In 1969, Rogers had testified before John O. Pastore, Chairman of the Subcommittee of Communications, urging him to increase funding for Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood (whose budget was then limited to $6,000) and for public broadcasting in general:

"$6,000 pays for less than two minutes of cartoons. Two minutes of animated, what I sometimes say, bombardment. I’m very much concerned, as I know you are, about what’s being delivered to our children in this country. And I’ve worked in the field of child development for six years now, trying to understand the inner needs of children. We deal with such things as—as the inner drama of childhood. We don't have to bop somebody over the head to ... make drama on the screen."

Mr. Pastore was moved by Rogers’ humble but powerful case, telling him “I’m supposed to be a pretty tough guy and this is the first time I’ve had goosebumps for the last two days…I think it’s wonderful.  Looks like you earned the 20 million dollars.”  With this expansive funding, Mister Rogers had the resources to air his show for decades, providing children the world over with learning, imagination, music, creativity and love as only he knew how.

Mister Rogers did not reach children through cartoons.  In every show, after singing his signature song “It’s A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood,” he would sit down and have a conversation with his young viewers.  Although we could not answer him it was as though he knew what we wanted to say back to him.  He would often bring something new to show us, something that would become an entire theme for learning throughout the episode.  Mister Rogers would often “take” us on trips to meet new people and learn about new things.  And we would always take a Trolley ride to the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, a mystical parallel kingdom to Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, peopled with his beloved puppets and their human friends.   

In each of Mister Rogers’ shows, there would often be more than one theme, one of which often addressed feelings and emotions children often feel.  Mister Rogers would talk about these feelings, even ones that can be extremely confusing and painful for children, such as when their parents go through a divorce.  He did not shy away from anything.  Nothing a child might face or struggle with was too messy or difficult for Mister Rogers to deal with.

One thing Mister Rogers said was "Always look for the helpers."  Even in the darkest of times, the helpers may always be found.  In them we find not only Mister Rogers' spirit living on, but the indefatigable humanity which we all possess.  Mister Rogers' legacy also echoes the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, in that "Everybody can be great, because anybody can serve." 

Both of these men will always stand on their own.  But they continue to live on in all of us, every time we reach out in humble service to others.
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