On May 1, 1969 – Fred Rogers testified in front of the US Senate Commerce Committee to request funds to support the growth of public television to Senator Pastore. Seemingly rough around the edges, Pastore listened to Rogers as he explained the importance of child development and the generation to come.
“I feel like if we in public television can only make it clear that feelings are mentionable and manageable we would have done a great service for mental health[…]let me tell you the words of one of the songs which I feel very important[…]what do you do with the mad that you feel? When you feel so mad you could bite? When the whole wide world seems oh so wrong and nothing you do seems very right? What do you do? Do you punch a bag? Do you pound some clay or some dough? Do you round up friends for a game of tag or see how fast you can go? It’s great to be able to stop when you’ve planned the thing that’s wrong, and to be able to do something else instead, and think this song. I can stop when I want to; can stop when I wish; can stop-stop-stop anytime, and what a could feeling to feel like this and know that the feeling is really mine, know that there is something deep inside that helps us become what we can; for a girl can be someday a lady, and a boy can be someday a man.” – Fred Rogers
Senator Pastore, visibly impressed, received goosebumps and gave the funds to public programming.
“The greatest thing that we can do is to help somebody know that they’re loved and capable of loving.” – Fred Rogers
Watching Will You Be My Neighbor? brought flashbacks of my own childhood. In an age when social media, cellphones and the constant connection before internet, Mr. Rogers was tailored to an audience that didn’t have those capabilities, but as I remember growing up, every child, no matter what age or generation they are growing up in, faces the same difficulties of not feeling loved and wanted.
Even as a grown up, I fight these same feelings of the constant seeking of approval. Although Mr. Rogers received backlash for his “everyone is special” message from the critics who say “if everyone is special, no one is.” Mr. Rogers led the movement into participation trophies and emotional thinkers.
But I don’t believe that was ever Mr. Rogers intention.
Mr. Rogers Neighborhood was on air from 1968 to 2001 with 31 seasons and nearly a thousand episodes; Rogers was a lifelong registered Republican and an ordained minister, he faced a wide area of issues on his half hour segment, such as divorce, assassination and racism. Rogers was a tolerant human being who said that we should love others and ourselves.
In 2017 a study from Mental Health America showed 43.7 million Americans struggle annual with mental health illness. 8.47% report having substance or alcohol abuse problems. 11% of youth report suffering from one depressive episode in the past year. 7.4% of youth suffer from sever depression. 5.13% of youth suffer from substance or alcohol abuse. (You can see the study here)
When 9/11 hit, his wife said that he felt defeated. Evil kept existing and the world was always going to be facing tragedy.
One of my friends on Instagram posted a metaphor of being a lighthouse for those around us. To paraphrase, he talked about how nations spend so much in trying to protect themselves from external threats, but that is not enough to insure safety. Extending it to individuals, safety from the external does not stop us from hurting ourselves and others.
We need beacons in our lives, and we need to be beacons for others. Though we cannot control what they do, “you can be a light that others can follow to safety.”
“How sad it is that we give up on people who are just like us.” – Fred Rogers
That being said, Mr. Rogers was a beacon. He let children know for years, everyday that for thirty minutes, we can drown out the noise.
The statistics from 2017, show a fallen world. A world where depression is becoming more prominent because we never feel good enough, loved enough, or wanted. We believe the lies and accept them as truth. This world is scary and tragic…but a man saw that in the midst of the tragedy and fear, we can be a beacon of truth.
“The toughest thing is to love somebody who has done something mean to you. Especially when that somebody has been yourself.” – Fred Rogers
The truth that Jesus loves us oh so very much and because Jesus loves us and forgives us, we need to love and forgive ourselves and others.
I prayer that my light and your light will not grow dim or that you or I will never get to far from the shoreline to see our “beacons”, the people that love us; want the best for us, and steadily stand firm as they wait for our return. Those people exemplify Christ in their love. Jesus is never going to stop loving you, and even when it seems like you are “too far gone”, you never will be.
“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” – Luke 19:10
Will You Be My Neighbor? is a tear jerker in which I highly recommend. It’s not because it’s sad necessarily, but because it serves as a reminder that as a child of God, you are loved, wanted and matter.
My Awkward Little Corner 