by Roxanne Jones

Created on: October 10, 2009

When we love a person, we accept him or her exactly as is: the lovely with the unlovely, the strong along with the fearful, the true mixed with the facade, and of course, the only way we can do this is by accepting ourselves that way. Fred Rogers

I was not an avid watcher of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood I wasn't allowed to be. I was banned from watching his show by my father who told me terrible things about him, all of which, I later found out, were terrible lies! He told me Mr. Rogers was a pedophile and that he liked to molest children. So while I was growing up, whenever I turned on the tv and Mr. Rogers' show came on I would switch channels immediately with a shudder. I am writing from the perspective of someone who has discovered Mr. Rogers much later in life, in early adulthood.

For me, Mr. Rogers represents the goodness of mankind. Most other children's shows taught ABCs or how to count and add numbers or the difference between colors and things but Mr. Rogers taught how to love; how to love yourself and how to love other people. He taught the importance of getting along with other people. And he taught all of this and more just by being his own patient, reassuring, and caring self. He taught things that, unfortunately, most school just don't teach and that is not how to use your mind or your body but how to use your heart. How to understand that, as Mr. Rogers once said, Understanding love is one of the hardest things in the world. But it is also the most important thing in the world.

I was reading a book filled with quotes from Mr. Rogers and one of them was There is only one thing evil cannot stand and that is forgiveness. How true that is. He taught of the importance of forgiving others of their sins not just for their benefit but also for your own benefit. He teaches children, and in my case and many others, adults too, how to use their hearts and grow their hearts which not many children's shows teach nowadays. His show was revolutionary for its time. And even today, his show stands the test of time as it is still airing around the world even though, sadly, the man is no longer with us.

Mr. Rogers will always be my friend and the friend of everyone who has a heart.

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