Human Decency - Mr. Rogers - Senate Subcommittee (1969)

Still relevant today...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKy7ljRr0AA
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/fredrogerssenatetestimonypbs.htm


Senator Pastore: Alright Rogers, you've got the floor.
Mr. Rogers: Senator Pastore, this is a philosophical statement and would take about ten minutes to read, so I'll not do that. One of the first things that a child learns in a healthy family is trust, and I trust what you have said that you will read this. It's very important to me. I care deeply about children.
Senator Pastore: Will it make you happy if you read it?
Mr. Rogers: I'd just like to talk about it, if it's alright. My first children's program was on WQED fifteen years ago, and its budget was $30. Now, with the help of the Sears-Roebuck Foundation and National Educational Television, as well as all of the affiliated stations -- each station pays to show our program. It's a unique kind of funding in educational television. With this help, now our program has a budget of $6000. It may sound like quite a difference, but $6000 pays for less than two minutes of cartoons. Two minutes of animated, what I sometimes say, bombardment. I'm very much concerned, as I know you are, about what's being delivered to our children in this country. And I've worked in the field of child development for six years now, trying to understand the inner needs of children. We deal with such things as -- as the inner drama of childhood. We don't have to bop somebody over the head to...make drama on the screen. We deal with such things as getting a haircut, or the feelings about brothers and sisters, and the kind of anger that arises in simple family situations. And we speak to it constructively.
Senator Pastore: How long of a program is it?
Mr. Rogers: It's a half hour every day. Most channels schedule it in the noontime as well as in the evening. WETA here has scheduled it in the late afternoon.
Senator Pastore: Could we get a copy of this so that we can see it? Maybe not today, but I'd like to see the program.
Mr. Rogers: I'd like very much for you to see it.
Senator Pastore: I'd like to see the program itself, or any one of them.
Mr. Rogers: We made a hundred programs for EEN, the Eastern Educational Network, and then when the money ran out, people in Boston and Pittsburgh and Chicago all came to the fore and said we've got to have more of this neighborhood expression of care. And this is what -- This is what I give. I give an expression of care every day to each child, to help him realize that he is unique. I end the program by saying, "You've made this day a special day, by just your being you. There's no person in the whole world like you, and I like you, just the way you are." And I feel that if we in public television can only make it clear that feelings are mentionable and manageable, we will have done a great service for mental health. I think that it's much more dramatic that two men could be working out their feelings of anger -- much more dramatic than showing something of gunfire. I'm constantly concerned about what our children are seeing, and for 15 years I have tried in this country and Canada, to present what I feel is a meaningful expression of care.
Senator Pastore: Do you narrate it?
Mr. Rogers: I'm the host, yes. And I do all the puppets and I write all the music, and I write all the scripts --
Senator Pastore: Well, I'm supposed to be a pretty tough guy, and this is the first time I've had goose bumps for the last two days.
Mr. Rogers: Well, I'm grateful, not only for your goose bumps, but for your interest in -- in our kind of communication. Could I tell you the words of one of the songs, which I feel is very important?
Senator Pastore: Yes.
Mr. Rogers: This has to do with that good feeling of control which I feel that children need to know is there. And it starts out, "What do you do with the mad that you feel?" And that first line came straight from a child. I work with children doing puppets in -- in very personal communication with small groups:

What do you do with the mad that you feel? When you feel so mad you could bite. When the whole wide world seems oh so wrong, and nothing you do seems very right. What do you do? Do you punch a bag? Do you pound some clay or some dough? Do you round up friends for a game of tag or see how fast you go? It's great to be able to stop when you've planned the thing that's wrong. And be able to do something else instead -- and think this song --

'I can stop when I want to. Can stop when I wish. Can stop, stop, stop anytime....And what a good feeling to feel like this! And know that the feeling is really mine. Know that there's something deep inside that helps us become what we can. For a girl can be someday a lady, and a boy can be someday a man.'

Senator Pastore: I think it's wonderful. I think it's wonderful. Looks like you just earned the 20 million dollars.

Life: Violent/Negative Impacts of Video Games

One of the big topics in today's parenting is about violent video games on children. There are lots of research, articles, and opinions on this topic. I think this does not only impact children but anyone who plays violent video games of any age.

I think these games do not make me any more violent than if I did not play violent games. It is possible that some people may learn to use violence as a coping mechanism, but I think this is more a lack on society in teaching the person alternative ways to cope with certain feelings. The problem is even worse with video games because it also takes people away from society thus forcing more stress on parents or guardians to focus on this behavior. In the past with other media, there was still at least some interactions with other people. Watching tv, movies, and/or listening to the radio allows other people to also be in the same proximity. So, violent shows and movies have similar impact but some social norms are still expected. It would be interesting to see impacts on people who do the same activities but by themselves.

What I think video games do to me is desensitize me from the violence. By this I mean that it is less shocking when reality presents me a similar situation. For example, seeing guns is less shocking because I see them in all the games. Although I have been taught to be careful, there is still some fear to be around them but after so many games, movies, and even the news, there is also a curiosity or cool factor to them. I would not be surprised that people with different exposure levels could be less inclined to stay away from things that could be very fatal or sadly excited to test to see if it is real.

To borrow from another genre of horror games, some things are less scary now because I am more used to seeing creepy creatures, blood, and other creepy music. Although this can be seen as a pro, this also shows how my increased exposure to certain things made me immune to certain feelings. Thus with violence, many people are "losing" the natural protection from violence which was our fear to violence. Perhaps that was not the best way to protect ourselves as we see our world compared to the past.

There was an article stating that criminal violence has actually gone down during the growth of video games among the youth. Unfortunately, I am not familiar with what can make an individual take the leap to that level of violence. Possibly since they act out earlier, these issues can actually be addressed before they are stressed to commit a larger crime. Another possibility is game addiction which prevents them from physically going out to commit crimes. Or maybe they lack so much social experience that they can no longer simple mix in with the crowd thus making them stand out more.

To me, the main problem is education which means parenting for many families. What makes education difficult is the changes in the way we educate others. Each generation faces different exposure and different values. I'm sure society thought the 80's families were more violent due to the exposures to violent tv shows and movies. Before that, possibly blamed radios. Today's education issue is probably more pronounced than before due to many combinations of improved communications primarily in marketing (internet) and our society values in placing economic values over social values (free market). This may not be technically better or worse, but definitely requires a different method to address different underlying issues although the underlying issues may share the same outcomes.

Education is not the soul responsibility of the parents although they are the core source for many children. It is all of our responsibilities to promote people around us, including friends, siblings, family, and even our parents. For parents, parenting shouldn't stop even after the kids leave to lead their own lives (hopefully at a lesser level than before). I may not understand everything my parents tell me, but I am still listening even if I retort that our world is not the same. Sometimes it just takes a lot of repetition for the lesson to hit home, and sometimes it really is a different world.


Reference:
http://videogames.procon.org/#pro_con
http://www.aacap.org/AACAP/Families_and_Youth/Facts_for_Families/Facts_for_Families_Pages/Children_and_Video_Games_Playing_with_Violence_91.aspx
http://www.drphil.com/articles/article/297
http://www.pamf.org/parenting-teens/general/media-web/videogames.html