Radicalized by Mister Rogers

Neighborly Resistence

I want to be Mister Rogers radical. In 1969, when there were still segregated swimming pools Misterr. Rogers invited his friend, Officer Clemmons to cool himself in a kiddie pool with him. This was a radical thing to do in 1969. Mister. Rogers was above all else kind. He was not loud, he was quiet. He was not flashy; he was boring and predictable. But he was a radical non the less.

In fact, Mister. Rogers was radically kind, radically inclusive, radically calm, radically gentle, radically ethical, radically compassionate, and radically wise. When I think about resisting the current administration and it’s dismantling of our government and the safety nets that have been around for decades, I wonder what I can do. I am just an average, middle aged, boring white woman living in a small community at the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains.

Are you feeling overwhelmed? Has some hopelessness begun to set in as we are bombarded day in and day out with one loss after the other.? Standing by watching the cruelty with which our leaders seem to be exacting their distain on the most vulnerable among us. Leadership that calls healthcare for the poor, fraud and waste, but thinks hosting a military parade for the self-aggrandizement of our president at the taxpayer cost of 45 million, reasonable. We have already paid, as of March, over 26 million for the president to golf. So, let’s be clear, DOGE was never about getting rid of waste, it was never about government efficiency, it was only about undoing the parts of government that works for all of us. The backbone of our country. The regular people who get up and go to work each day to provide for our families and support our neighbors.

Mister. Roger’s didn’t change the world that day when he welcomed Officer Clemmons some relief from the heat, on the set of a children’s program in the 1960’s. But he did give us a positive example of how to be radically human. How to step outside of what is expected and comfortable to wade in the waters of compassionate acceptance of diversity and difference.

In this time, in this moment I want to be radical like Mister. Rogers. I want my eyes to see the humanity of others first. I want to dare to be uncomfortable. I want to trust my gut. I know what is right and what is wrong. It is inhumane to be treating people as disposable, by cutting off healthcare, demolishing the CDC, FDA, NIH, or getting rid of FEMA as tornado and hurricane seasons begin.

Remember the W.W.J.D. bracelets (What Would Jesus do)? Maybe, I just need a W.W.M.R.D band to wear on my wrist (What Would Mr. Rogers’ Do?). Something to look at every day to remind me to be radical. To call me toward justice in the gentlest of ways.

In a world of heartless leaders, be a Mister Rogers.

If you were radicalized by Mister Rogers, leave a comment below, I would love to hear from you.