Most people my age and older are aware of Mr. Rogers. From the moment television appeared, Fred Rogers knew it would be essential to life. It was a God-given inspiration.
After watching the movie, “Won’t You Be My Neighbor,” my view and understanding of Fred Rogers changed drastically. Of course, I always knew he had a significant impact on society, but many of the things I see in society as issues he was tackling then. Please take some time to read this article and then watch the documentary. It was fantastic.
First, I’d like to give you some background on Fred Rogers. He was finishing his senior year of college with the expectation of going to seminary when he was introduced to television. From that moment, he knew it would have an incredible impact on society. So rather than go back to school to pursue seminary, Rogers went to PBS and began an educational station for children.
His world was Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood. It began simply with free film rolls and teaching. After one of the rolls broke mid-film, Rogers grabbed a puppet (Daniel) and stuck him through a hole in the wall. That introduced this idea of storytelling with Puppets in a make-believe world. The tv show then created two locations: Mr. Rogers’s house and a make-believe world. The ladder transported viewers to a place to witness real issues and problem-solving appropriately. When they transition back to Rogers, viewers hear him debrief and unfold the lessons the puppets learned. Below are four things you may not know about Fred Roger’s life.
Mr. Rogers Never Shied away from complex topics in the world.
We feel that kids and youth can’t handle these bad events today, so we tend to whitewash or ignore them. As a result, things such as sex, terrorism, war, killing, and race issues get neglected for various reasons. Mr. Rogers, however, tackled these things head-on. He discussed terrorism, death, divorce, Vietnam, getting lost, and even the Challenger explosion.
In one episode, Daniel asks Lady Anberlin what assassination means. WOW. Her response is simply, “Someone getting killed in a sort of surprise way.” She continues by saying that people are sad because of this (talking about the assassinations of JFK and Bobby) and that Daniel can talk about it when he is ready. These incredible subjects helped kids learn healthy boundaries and showed them they could express their feelings about these events.
When asked why he addressed these issues, Mr. Rogers explained, “[they are a] plea not to leave the children at the mercy of their fantasies of loss and destruction.” He continues by saying that children have deep feelings just like the rest of us. Therefore, he says striving to understand and respond to them is the most crucial task in our world.
Mr. Rogers Embraced Emotions Rather Than Hide Them
As a child, Fred Rogers wasn’t allowed to express anger. But unfortunately, this is a very prevalent thing in Christian culture. We see anger as bad, and we should keep quiet. Rogers even stated that he was scared to use words because he didn’t want to be “bad.” But somehow, he always knew love was at the center of it all. And we see that in his life.
During a meeting with Congress, Mr. Rogers (along with others) needed to convince them to keep funding PBS. But, unfortunately, the conversation was going downhill, and interviewers from the movie stated they didn’t have much hope until Mr. Rogers got up…
Rogers threw out his written speech and spoke most gently and kindly. As he closed, he said, “If we in public television can only make it clear that feelings are mentionable and manageable, we would have done a great service.” To everyone’s surprise, the congress approved the funding.
Mr. Rogers knew something the Church missed…
Another beautiful example of Mr. Rogers utilizing his emotional side was with one of his coworkers, François Clemmons. Clemmons’ was captivated by Rogers, but it wasn’t until after he was caught at a gay bar that he truly experienced Mr. Rogers’s love. While Mr. Rogers maintained his belief that being Gay was a sin, he still loved and accepted Clemmons. One day on set, Mr. Rogers said, “I love you just the way you are.”
Despite hearing this phrase several times, Clemmons’ heard it this time. It was the first time any man had ever said he loved him. Watch Clemmons’ describe it himself in the video below:
Mr. Rogers Didn’t Try To Make Life Prettier Than It Was
You’ve all experienced it. The moment when a movie captures the depressed person? They then have a friend come in and give this rousing piece of advice, and everything is magically better. But, unfortunately, this isn’t true at all. While we want to accept encouragement, our doubts are still loud and take time to get rid of.
While in the make-believe land, Daniel talks to Lady Aberlin and is open about thinking he is a mistake. The unique part here is that Fred Rogers is seen in Daniel out of all the puppets. For some reason, Mr. Rogers poured his vulnerabilities out through Daniel.
After Daniel sings about being a mistake, Aberlin says he is much more. Rather than Daniel saying, “Thank you… that helped so much,” Rogers had them begin singing a duet. Rogers showed that it’s okay to have doubts still so long as we surround ourselves with friends who speak truth into our lives.
There were a million things I wanted to share about this incredible man, including his childlike spirit, his understanding of silence and slowness, and even the fact that he was one of the first visually seen workplace ministers. First, however, I’d encourage you to watch the documentary and keep this post from running on see for yourself.
I’d encourage you not to shy away from these challenging subjects of life with people around you. Be prayerful, of course, and ask God to give you ways to teach the issues, but do share them. I’d also encourage you to begin embracing your emotions. Check out the books Emotionally Healthy Spirituality or Boundaries to learn more about Christianity and emotions.
Lastly, I’d encourage you to be accurate with yourself and others. It’s okay to have weaknesses; it’s okay to deal with anger and addictions; it’s okay to fall short. But Jesus didn’t die to condemn you; He died to resurrect you and allow you to live free of guilt and shame. And in that freedom and righteousness, you will begin to walk out of those things.