Mr. Rogers

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/wayoflife/07/28/mf.mrrogers.neighbor/index.html

I just read an article comprised of a list of fifteen things that make Mr. Rogers “the best neighbor ever.” This includes many anecdotes about his personal life and his ideology, as well as interesting facts. For instance, Mr. Rogers saved television and VCR by going to Congress and presenting a five minute appeal about “how TV had the potential to give kids hope and create more productive citizens.” He also stopped them from outlawing the recording of television shows because he maintained that recording shows and saving them for later was effective in making families sit down and watch shows together. Furthermore, he personally composed every song on his show. Every single sweater he wore on the show was hand-knitted by his grandmother. He reported his car as stolen once, and the media got ahold of the information and told everyone, and two hours later his car was parked in the same spot with an apology note from the thieves, saying they would never have taken it if they had known it was his.

This article is obviously high in pathos, creating great feelings of love for Mr. Rogers and his work, but it also has a surprising amount of ethos. The list is comprised mostly of real accounts from real people. To prove his niceness to human beings, #6 includes a story of a time that he was driven in a limo with his wife to a fancy party at the PBS executive’s house. When he realized that the limo driver would have to sit outside and wait for him for two hours, he invited him into the party. On the way back, he sat up front and talked to the driver, learning that they were just about to pass his home. Mr. Rogers asked to driver to stop so that he could meet his family, and he stayed for a long enchanting evening, getting to know the family and playing jazz piano for them. The limo driver said it was the best night of his life. Mr. Rogers stayed in correspondence with the driver for the rest of his life. This is a highly pathos-ethos combined story that proves Mr. Rogers’s kindness and his compassion for other human beings. The article is delicately comprised of pathos, ethos, and logos to make Mr. Rogers out to be a deeply good person.