How Mister Rogers Was Even More Amazing Than We Knew

Back in 1969, PBS was struggling to get off the ground. The concept of public television, something free from advertising, was new, and many were skeptical about its worth. After all, why would something exist if not to sell something else? Fortunately, there were proponents willing to speak up about the merits of having a network with such a specific, humble mission — one of them happened to be Mister Rogers.

Rogers appeared before the United States Senate Subcommittee on Communications and was directly questioned by Rhode Island Senator John Pastore. Known for his gruff demeanor, the idea of convincing Pastore of the merits of children's television might have seemed impossible to some mere mortals, but Mister Rogers made it look easy. After just over six minutes, Pastore admitted that he had "goosebumps" listening to Rogers speak about his show, and readily agreed to give PBS the $20 million in funding it requested. He was so enamored with Rogers, in fact, he even requested a copy of the show, because he wanted to watch it himself. Good luck forming a political attack ad around someone who admits to watching Mister Rogers' Neighborhood in his 60s.

So what exactly did Mister Rogers say that was so compelling? Many, many things. If you haven't already seen the compelling exchange, do yourself a favor and watch it. One particularly powerful moment is when Rogers explains that drama isn't about bopping people over the head, violence, or bombarding children with animated characters, but, rather how scary it can be for a child to get a haircut. True drama, he argues, could be as simple as watching two men work out their anger in a constructive way. Yeah, if you can watch his measured, composed, but passionate plea without being affected, you might be a robot.

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