There's no stranger-danger in Mr. Roger's Neighborhood

“Stranger danger!” That fear is real enough for many parents who teach their children to be careful around people they don’t know. I understand that. But I don’t like it, not one bit. Our culture seems almost eager to feed that fear in so many ways.

In his own gentle, creative way, Fred Rogers pushed hard against that fear. For 31 years, “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood” created a television environment for countless children where they learned they were accepted “just because you’re you.” Children learned about being good neighbors.

“Neighbor” is an Old English word that means “near dweller,” someone who lives nearby. And most of us do have neighbors who live nearby. For many of us, that physical proximity is as neighborly as it gets. We may not actually know the neighbor, only that he or she lives nearby.

We can experience stranger-danger in our residential block. I say this not to shame anyone, but to simply point out a social reality that exists in the county.

Come back with me to visit Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood again. I honestly don’t know whether “stranger danger” was a term that was used at all on the set in the land of make-believe created by Fred Rogers. But I’m confident there was no stranger-danger in Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood/

I do know that the 26 puppet characters and the 21 human characters who lived in the neighborhood over 31 years laughed, cried, hoped and worked their collective way toward moments when their fears would melt away. Rogers found very creative, if often corny ways (to adults anyway) to make children feel safe, loved, and fully respected.

Many of those children are middle-aged adults now. I’ve only taken a one-person poll (our 47-year-old son), but my hunch is many of those adults are now raising children who feel safe, loved, and fully respected.

Yes, stranger-danger is a reality in our culture, even in our own little neighborhood at times; but so is an powerfully consistent atmosphere of caring for other people, of helping others, of enjoying neighbors for who they are.

If a long-running television children’s show contributes to a down-to-earth caring neighborhood, with flesh-and-blood caring neighbors in any way, that show is worth honoring. And that is, in part, what next Tuesday’s Geezer Forum is going to do.

On Dec. 11, we will watch a 95-minute documentary called “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” at the Geezer Forum in Columbia Bank’s Community Room. We will gather early, from 2-4 p.m.

That will allow us a little conversation time after the documentary to explore how being good neighbors works for us. I think the backstory that tells what went in to make Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood such an icon of gentle acceptance of all people will make you sit up and take notice.

Rogers actually introduced some pretty bold social commentary through showing how his many characters could interact with each other in times of joy and in times of disagreement. Please join us next Tuesday. You may even learn something new, or remember something you forgot.

Paul Graves, M.Div., is Lead Geezer-in-Training for Elder Advocates, a consulting ministry on aging issues. Contact Paul at 208-610-4971 or elderadvocates@nctv.com.