[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 193 (Wednesday, December 4, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S6855]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       REMEMBERING MISTER ROGERS

  Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, I wanted to take a moment to recognize 
Mr. Rogers, who is being celebrated with the release of a new movie 
starring Tom Hanks and a new album recorded largely in Nashville that 
features new renditions of the songs we loved hearing Mr. Rogers sing.
  Fred Rogers learned to play piano when he was very young. He studied 
music composition in college, and he actually wrote the wonderful songs 
we came to know so well, including ``Won't You Be My Neighbor,'' ``It's 
Such a Good Feeling,'' and ``Many Ways to Say I Love You.''
  Rogers taught us about kindness and love, but his lessons were never 
trite and they were not in isolation from the world or reality.
  He talked to our children about assassination with a hand puppet 
after Robert Kennedy was killed. He talked about racism and about 
divorce. When teaching children how to deal with scary news on TV, he 
told the story that as a young boy his ``mother would say to me, `Look 
for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.' '' 
Inevitably with today's media and internet, after any disaster or 
emergency you will see people comfort one another with that quote from 
Mr. Rogers and thanking our brave police, firefighters, and first 
responders. And that belief in the importance of ``helpers'' has 
inspired countless people to take on the role of being a helper, 
learning the skills and taking on the important role of saving lives, 
protecting our community, and rushing in when others are rushing out.
  Mr. Rogers also shared with all of us a love for learning, the joy of 
making new friends and trying new experiences. He taught us the power 
of imagination, the awe of a new book, and the soothing help that a 
song can provide.
  I often talk about what happens in Washington as a split-screen 
television--all the anger and the tweets and the upset on one side of 
the screen and all the quiet successes and getting along and bills 
passing and helpful meetings happening on the other side of the screen. 
As a society, in the media and online, we generally choose to amplify 
the one side of the screen--the angry and the noisy side. But this 
month is a good time to amplify the other.
  My late friend Alex Haley, the author of Roots, used to say ``Find 
the Good and Praise It.'' That is the best way to celebrate the memory 
of Fred Rogers--to find the good in one another, just as he did, and to 
help children find the good in themselves.

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