I just finished watching a clip from a '69 Senate hearing with Fred Rogers, or Mr. Rogers, as most people know him - speaking against a budget cut to public television proposed by Nixon... no doubt to "balance" the ongoing Vietnam invasion.

I was a bit caught off guard by it - I would have never expected to be so moved by his words. I wish now that I had watched more of his show as a child growing up.

Something about the way he slowed down the conversation - made sure people felt calm and involved. His presence seemed to shift, on a dime, the mood in the congress - it went from business to personal, and I think suddenly the members remembered that their cuts had real, long-lasting affects on the outside world.


Mostly, I wanted to post this clip to show people that one person can have a strong effect - Mr. Rogers, during this hearing, wasn't the life-long children's mentor and icon he later came to be, he was young, and had only been doing his show for a short number of years. Pastore had never even heard of, or seen his public access show.



But with words - and only words, Fred Rogers does something very simple and powerful - brings out people's inner-child and with that... a strong sense of morality. I wish he were still alive.