Jody Victor: Caring for Others Is Mr. Rogers’ Legacy
Released on: Wednesday, 28, 2007 8:00 AM
by Jody Victor
“Howdy, Neighbor!” For nearly forty years this simple greeting has warmed the hearts of American children and parents alike. The genuineness of warmth and spirit that exuded from the smiling face of Fred McFeely Rogers was undeniable. Rogers once said of his notoriety, “I have really never considered myself a TV star. I always thought I was a neighbor who just came in for a visit.” And that’s what he was – America’s neighbor.
Fred Rogers devoted his life to children and to teaching adults how to treat children. Rogers used his show to talk to children about such sensitive topics as divorce and even death. And he always did so within the context of protection and safety. “I’m taking care of you,” he sang to them, “Taking good care of you. For once I was very little, too; Now I take care of you.” In a series of public service announcements on helping children deal with the Gulf War, he said, “The least and best we adults can do is to let our children know that we'll take good care of them no matter what.” With a philosophy like that, it is no wonder his is the longest running program in public television history.
Mr. Rogers’ message of love, acceptance, and protection is not simply a message for children. It is a message we all desire and need. It is the message of people helping people. It is the message of the neighborhood. In this age of stockade fences, backyard decks, and street-side mailboxes, we have forgotten what it is to live in a community where our neighbors know us well enough and care enough for us to watch out for us. We lost something important when we lost the American neighborhood. Mr. Rogers continues to remind us, over two years after his death, of this vital conduit of human thoughtfulness. His example calls us to kindness. “Please, won’t you be my neighbor?”
To read more on the exemplary life and career of Fred Rogers, see the web site for his production company,
Family Communications, Inc.
“"We live in a world in which we need to share responsibility. It's easy to say 'It's not my child, not my community, not my world, not my problem.' Then there are those who see the need and respond. I consider those people my heroes." - Fred Rogers
The people we've chosen to write about have/had their quota of human failings and foibles just like the rest of us... But they share one transcendent quality: All of them in some way, at some time, acted courageously. We appreciate columnist,
Jody Victor, focusing on Mr. Rogers character and contributions to children and community because this focus better equips us to help others.
