Recently we were in Pittsburgh and we revisited the Heinz Museum which housed the Fred Rogers exhibit. He of course was a native son of Pittsburgh and the recreation of the TV set is excellent. I was talking to a guard and he sat the Mr. Rogers section of the museum is one of the most beloved. I was in tears, just listening to the familiar, "It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood...." as it took me back to our sons and how they loved the soothing, comfortable show. Sesame Street and the Electric Company and others were on in the same time frame, but they had completely different effects on the boys - and me! At first I found his deliberate repletion of actions and words strange. But gradually I realized that he was reinforcing every concept of parenting I was attempting to convey - particularly of kindness. "Please won't you be my neighbor." And the consistency that we tried to practice in terms of behavior, health, sleep, conversation - all of these Mr. Rogers did in a short program each day, essentially saying to me, "I got your back."
That is why I think thousand of adults stand before the reconstructed Mr. Rogers Neighborhood with eyes and hearts full of tears.
Have we ever needed his message of gentle civility more as a nation?
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