Save Mr. Rogers

PBS is intending to take Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood out of regular rotation, limiting it to one episode a week, on weekends.

I dare you to watch this and not feel just...cheated by this decision.


Or how about this one?


Or this?


Fred Rogers was probably one of, if not the most sincere, honest, loving man in television. He absolutely, truly believed in the sanctity of childhood, that absolutely every child was worthwhile and wonderful. He taught children that it was okay to feel however you felt, and that sometimes even your very own emotions are scary, but that's okay. He taught that there was a time and place for make-believe, but that the real world was just as interesting. He said over and over that there is someone who loves you and you are worthy of that love.

Mr. Rogers never talked down to children but also didn't treat them as miniature adults. He treated them with respect as people and tried to give the comfort and nurturing that children need. He didn't preach, or lecture, but engaged in dialogue through the TV, reaching out to kids in the most genuine way possible.

I remember being home sick from school one day in high school, maybe ninth or tenth grade. Both my parents were at work and I was alone in the house. I was lying on the futon downstairs and turned on the TV, and there was Mr. Rogers. He was just the same as he'd been when I was ten years younger - and he was every bit as comforting to watch.

To deprive a generation of children of that is just mean. In this world, we could all benefit from someone who was regularly there, every day, to say he likes you just the way you are, and things may be scary but it's okay to be scared. Children may need that more than ever right now. Why would we possibly want to take that away?