We Need More Fred Rogers

This morning I was looking for a funny video to watch on YouTube. Normally I settle on ‘Good Mythical Morning’ or ‘CinemaSins’ but today YouTube had a different suggestion. I don’t know if that is because I’ve changed my viewing habits lately (I’ve looked up a lot of Classic Hits for work and Chelsie and I play worship music when we’re cooking or cleaning) or if it was just meant for me to see this video today. Regardless of why, I came across videos about Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood. There’s not much on TV that resembles the program that he put on PBS for decades. Even children’s programming today features flashy graphics, fast storylines, and little or no emphasis on the children themselves.

Why is that?

It would seem it’s due to the need for ratings on commercial stations and lack of talent interested in being a part of public television. In 2019, when so much of what we see is clickbait, sensationalism, crude natured, or just totally false, how much good would his type of program bring?

We all have a memory of Mr. Rogers; he was our friend, a calm voice, and someone who cared about us. I watched several videos about his life, his accomplishments, and the speeches he’d given. One of my favorites is when he addressed Congress to ask for more funding for public television (click here to watch it.) To walk into Congress and ask for more money to help children during that era was bold, but to melt the heart of a congressman was unreal. Proof that if an idea is a good one you don’t need to do much to convince people to support it.

So why write about Mr. Rogers today? Because those videos noticeably warmed my heart. So much of what we see on TV, Facebook, YouTube, etc. is just gross. I’m not one to preach about morality, language, personal choices, or how people choose to raise their kids; however, how much better would we all be if we walked and talked a little more like Fred Rogers? His whole career was based on teaching kids how to deal with feelings, life problems, and youthful curiosity. How many kids get that type of encouragement today? Too many are taught by a device, their peers or babysat by the TV. Yes, I know, Mr. Rogers Neighborhood was a TV show but it was a different kind of TV show entirely.

Whether it’s a team you coach, kids at church, or people you work with; why not try to embody some of the characteristics of Mr. Rogers. What are those you ask?

Calmness – Much like his fellow public television star Bob Ross, Mr. Rogers was always calm and gentle with the way he spoke. People today might view that as a weakness but I always saw it as sincerity and caring. Nothing can earn the trust of another person as quickly as being sincere.

Friendliness – If Fred Rogers was one thing in his time on TV he was our friend. He embodied friendliness in every episode. During a time of civil rights unrest, he demonstrated friendship with Francois Clemmons who played a police officer on the show. The two splashed their feet in a kiddie pool and then shared a towel to dry off. At a time when the country was tearing itself apart of racial issues, Mr. Rogers used friendship to demonstrate that race didn’t matter. Or perhaps you were a child whose parents were in the middle of an ugly divorce. Mr. Rogers chose to be YOUR friend and reminded you that just because mom and dad didn’t love each other anymore didn’t mean they loved you any less.

Imagination – Encouraging imagination in children is so important for their creative development and no one has ever encouraged that on a broad scale better than Mr. Rogers. Most of the characters in the Land of Make-Believe were characters he created in his mind as a child and then brought to his program to help teach lessons to kids. He talked about pretending, imagining, and being artistic. Every child needs to learn these traits.

That’s what we experienced as kids and something I certainly want my kids to see. So today, remember the lessons Mr. Rogers taught us and apply them to something you do.  Remember how the show would end?

“You’ve made this day a special day just by your being you. There’s no person in the world like you. And I like you just the way you are.”

Go share that with someone today.