First was the column in the Wall Street Journal that argued that Mister Rogers helped spawn a generation of brats. Then there was an equally preposterous Fox News story. It's official: Conservatives have run out of villains.
The late Fred Rogers spread the message -- which for some reason is controversial now -- that children are special. He never taught selfishness. In fact, neither the Journal nor Fox News could produce any evidence that he did. Even the author of a book cited to back up their argument doesn't blame Rogers for the growing selfishness of today's youth.
"The MTV show 'My Super Sweet Sixteen' has done 100 times more to normalize narcissism than Mr. Rogers ever did," writes San Diego State University Psychology Professor Jean Twenge, author of Generation Me: Why Today's Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled -- and More Miserable Than Ever Before." Mr. Rogers' show also emphasizes many things that are the complete opposite of narcissism: Gentleness, caring for others, and the value of community."
The Journal argued that "what often got lost in his self-esteem-building patter was the idea that being special comes from working hard and having high expectations for yourself." Ironically, that was exactly the message that Rogers preached.
"He certainly didn't want to be giving children messages that were narcissistic," said Hedda Sharapan, who started working with Rogers in 1965, in an interview. "Young children need affirmation. The security of being loved is essential for moving forward."
In addition, she pointed out that secure children develop self-control and self-discipline. As fans of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood -- which included me when I was a toddler -- could observe, those were qualities the television show host had in abundance.
"Instant gratification, and entitlement -- that's the antithesis of Mister Rogers," she said. "He always hung up his sweater. He always fed the fish. The stories were never solved easily or even within the half hour. The theme carried across the whole week."
Rogers, whose program still gets about 2 million viewers a month, chose his words very carefully. When he started his program, he told his young viewers that "I like you you just as you are." By the late 1970s, he changed that to "people can like you just because you are you," Sharapan said.
Fred Rogers, an ordained Presbyterian minister who died in 2003, should be a hero for people who profess to care about family values.
To conservatives, such as Louisiana State University Professor Don Chance, who is put off by whiny students grubbing for grades, Rogers is "representative of a culture of excessive doting," according to the Wall Street Journal. That's unfair. Students have bitched about their grades since well before Mister Rogers came on the scene.
Still, my hunch is that today's generation probably spent little time in the Neighborhood.
Instead, they were bombarded with messages from marketing from huge media conglomerates such as Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA) and Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) to buy merchandise featuring SpongeBob and Mickey Mouse. PBS' Sesame Street is no slouch in the marketing department either, but the show is still as good as ever.
To be clear, I hate the cult of self-esteem as much as the next person. Some parents, like the ones who celebrate pre-school graduation, want to wrap their kids in bubble wrap to protect them from life's disappointments. Instead, they have created a generation of spoiled brats who think the world owes them a living.
Evidence abounds that children are ruder and more selfish than ever. But instead of blaming a dead TV host, maybe parents should look at themselves. Kids get a sense of entitlement because that's the message that they get from their spineless parents.
How ironic that people who preach the values of personal responsibility are trying to blame their problems on someone who taught them to do just that.
Maybe they need to take the next train out of "The Neighborhood of Make Believe" into the real world.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-13-2007 @ 11:24AM
The_Village_Idiot said...
That's so funny blaming Mr. Rogers for todays brats. Come on parents, it's all your fault. This insanity began 15+ years ago when Jr. was praised for everything he did (even if he sucked at it). The losers starting getting "participation" trophy's. Parents don't want to be parents but rather best friends with their kids. The impact of this is now felt in the workplace where older bosses have to be taught how to reward this pathetic generation of younger workers. I heard one training program required issuing "You're #1" stickers to their young adult workers! How sad is that?