An Unsung American Hero

It would seem that we have few heroes these days.  So I want to offer up an American Hero that I am sure few would think of as having hero qualities.  I offer to you the late Mr. Fred Rogers.  Yes!  The very same Mr. Rogers, creator of the Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood children’s program.

Americans tend to think of heroes as Rambo types—huge, mean, lean, muscular, no-nonsense, winner-take-all, fighter-types that kill off and completely demolish their enemies.  By the way, given the dynamics of this election year, it is obvious that we carry over that kind of killer-instinct attitude into the political arena.  It sort of defines the American psyche.

So Mr. Rogers is more like an anti-hero.  He is the very opposite of what we think of as hero material.  Yet, that is precisely what makes him all the more a genuine hero.  He had none of that in-your-face, bravado attitude, no killer-instinct.  Mr. Rogers was always kind, soft-spoken, respectful, considerate, and totally affirming of others.   There is no one that he did not applaud and/or appreciate.

If you know of Mr. Rogers, you may or may not have known that Mr. Rogers was also an ordained Presbyterian minister.  Thus, Mr. Rogers studied the Way of Christ.  And so here’s the irony.  Many Christian men and fathers ridiculed the program called Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood and/or flat out rejected Mr. Rogers’ style and approach to childhood development and affirmation.  Why is this ironic?  It is ironic because the Spirit of Christ, the Way of Christ, and the teachings of Christ was Mr. Rogers’ guiding light.

To further make my point, let me put it this way.  Using our imagination, for this election year of 2016, if the battle for the Republican ticket was between Fred Rogers and Donald Trump rather than between Donald Trump and Ted Cruz or John Kasich or Marco Rubio, yes, imagining a contest just between Mr. Trump and Mr. Rogers, I have no doubt that Donald Trump would still have the Evangelical Support.  Yet between the two men, Fred Rogers and Donald Trump, who really is authentically and genuinely the better man in terms of spirit, integrity, attitude, judgment, and character?

This is why Christianity, and the so-called Evangelical Christian conservative voting bloc, has lost and/or is losing credibility with the new generation of voters.  Evangelical Christians no longer seem to take their lead from the Lord they claim to follow.  Where is the Spirit of Christ in the attitude and character of a politician like Donald Trump, given his support by conservative Evangelicals?  Yet, when such an attitude and character is in fact demonstrated, as seen in the person of Mr. Rogers, it is rejected and ridiculed as weak and sissified or worse.

Nevertheless, contrary to Mr. Rogers’ demeanor, Mr. Rogers’ was a rock-solid strong man, firm and true and honorable in his manliness.  Mr. Rogers had true inner strength, integrity of heart and soul, with clarity of mind as to intent and purpose, and demonstrated an unwavering commitment to his values and principles without ever hurting, attacking, or striking down others in maintaining them—very Christ like.

So, yes, Mr. Rogers was a true American hero.  Unsung, mostly unrecognized, even sometimes laughed at and ridiculed for his ways.  Yet few men will ever live up to his stature as a man of integrity, goodness, kindness, gentleness, and love.  Mr. Rogers is an example of one who truly took Christ seriously took Christ at His Word and actually lived his life in the Spirit of Christ.