There’s lots of words that describe me – mom, wife, sister, daughter. Then there’s the other words – bossy, loud, clumsy. But one word that would never be ascribed to me is the word “gentle.”
I thought about that description when I saw an online post regarding the time Fred Rogers, known to most of us as Mr. Rogers, appeared before the Senate in 1962 to request funds to help support a new concept, national public television.
This was the first time the senate had ever seen Rogers speak because he was relatively unknown at the time.
A young and earnest Rogers told a cynical Senate panel that children need to learn to trust. Rogers talked about reaching more children through television to help them learn the small things in life that make a child feel safe and loved.
Despite the gruff manner of the senator, Rogers kept his calm, quietly convincing the panel that quality programming was needed to develop the inner needs of young children. He ended his testimony with a reading of one of his songs about what to do with the mad that you feel.
“I can stop when I want to, can stop when I wish, I can stop, stop, stop any time and what a good feeling to feel like this,” he read in that never-hurried familiar voice.
His testimony convinced the Senate to fund public broadcasting. Fred Rogers was beloved by at least three generations of children, and I count myself as one of his fans.
He didn’t get that love by bopping characters on the head, using profanity or bathroom humor. He taught children simple lessons – routines can be soothing, neighbors are important in one’s life and the little things in life, the things children notice, are important.
And he did all of that through a gentle, calm manner that’s not in great demand these days. It’s a shame gentle movies like “The Indian in the Cupboard,” “The Black Stallion” and “Searching for Bobby Fischer” aren’t more popular.
The heroes in these movies are quiet children who come to understand that gentleness, not brute force, is the way to face life. They do the right thing in the movie while maintaining their self-respect.
Instead, we flock to loud movies filled with CGI effects that practically blow us out of our seats. If a movie doesn’t have at least five explosions, two or three characters that speak as if a sailor gave them elocution lessons and unsavory characters, then the film’s a flop.
As much as I enjoy action-packed movies and loud music, my soul often yearns for quiet– a stroll in the park where the only sounds are the leaves rustling high above my head, pebbles skittering across a well-worn path and songbirds calling to each other from the tree tops.
The only times I come close to a state of gentleness is when I’m rocking a sleeping child late at night when the house is quiet and still. Occasionally I’ll find myself walking along a wooded path in our neighborhood, and I can practically feel my muscles unwind.
I know people who are gentle from time to time, but I know very few who are gentle with everyone, from children to adults to animals.
In this hurry-up world filled with distrust, anger and a fear of the future, it’s difficult to maintain a gentle attitude, and I count myself guilty on all counts of throwing gentleness to the side.
I need to remember the words Mr. Rogers taught us – “Discovering the truth about ourselves is a lifetime’s work, but it’s worth the effort.”
Maybe there’s some gentleness in me after all – I think Mr. Rogers would quietly tell me to go find it.
This column was originally published in The Fort Bend Herald.