I didn't know much about Mister Rogers nor his classic show "Mister Rogers' Neighbourhood" until I saw the Tom Hanks film, A Beautiful Day In The Neighbourhood. Here's my thoughts on what it can teach us about the inner cynicism that we all fall prey to from time to time.
Mister Rogers was uncharateristically nice to a level that seem hard to believe, and yet that itself says something about cynicism; the fact we struggle to believe him. Letting our cynicism go unchecked can lead us down a path similar to Lloyd Vogel; wanting to write an exposé, wanting to dig out the dirt in an otherwise good man. It can lead us down a path of resenting goodness, questioning all kindness, and ultimately sucking the sense of trust out of humanity. Lloyd tried to dig deep into Fred Rogers but all he found was love and kindness. Sometimes we forget love and kindess does lie at the heart of humanity, that it's not all selfishness and ulterior motives.
In learning to trust and believe in Fred Rogers, Lloyd learned to trust in himself, in his father, in his own ability to be a father, and in the general goodness of the world around him. Not too long ago, I shared a poem in one of my videos with a line that "Sunlight is what opens the flower/it trusts there is a world worth opening to."
I think both Fred Rogers and the 2019 film express that idea wonderfully. - My Little Thought Tree
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