It's You I Like

Standing with Mr. Rogers

“When I say it's you I like, I'm talking about the part of you that knows that life is far more than anything you can ever see or hear or touch. That deep part of you that allows you to stand for those things without which humankind cannot survive. Love that conquers hate, peace that rises triumphant over war, and justice that proves more powerful than greed.”

Fred Rogers (“Mr. Rogers”)

My friend, Sally Harris, posted this quote from Mr. Rogers on her Facebook page yesterday. I miss him and his kind approach to life. One thing he pointed out here that is easy to overlook in the sweetness of what he said is “without which humankind cannot survive.” That deep part of you, that God-image part, realizes that love, peace and justice are critical to our survival as a species.

I have heard a number of powerful people say we should rush to war, and more say we should close our borders to ALL foreign people, and many more say we are weak for not insisting on these measures. They may be right, they may have the solution. But I stand with Mr. Rogers—I think we cannot allow ourselves to give in to hate, war and greed if we want to survive. Because survival is more than saving our lives and our “way of life.” It is saving our souls as well.

When we allow fear to guide us, when we succumb to hatred, when we withhold hospitality, we enable those who would harm us to take our souls and our way of life just as surely as if they had conquered us on a battlefield. They win when hate becomes justified in our hearts and minds, when “Death and Destruction!” becomes our battle cry. When we do this, we become their mirror image, and then, no one will win.

Today, in the cockles of our hearts, let's practice what Mr. Rogers said: “Love that conquers hate, peace that rises triumphant over war, and justice that proves more powerful than greed.”

                                                           In the Spirit,

                                                               Jane