I've got something to say today. Not just ten minutes of randomness, but concentrated thoughts that have been on my mind for the last several hours. Before we get into that let me first say thank you to all of our patrons who came to the show last night. They were very gracious, and really wonderful. Backstage we, the actors, all felt like we were off, we felt like the audience wasn't into it, and we fuddled the second to last scene a little bit. We put our energy into our performance and didn't let our perception get us down, we recovered our fumble, and the audience gave us a second standing ovation. I don't think any of us expected that, but it goes to show that as an actor or someone backstage you can't base the performance on the verbal cues of the audience. They were on a journey in their minds and they liked where we took them. And maybe it took the first act for the audience to warm up. One patron told two of us that he wasn't into the play until the second act. That's alright. I'm thankful we didn't give up on ourselves or audience members like him. He gave it our all and they got on board and rewarded our efforts in a big way. It's very humbling and I'm grateful for the lesson and their support. Thank you patrons! One of my closest childhood friends is coming to the matinee today. I look forward to seeing him and making the guy laugh. Today's going to be a great day!
Now to the meat. Last night one of my cousins shared Fred Rogers' goodbye episode and from there I watched his lifetime award speech, and then I enjoyed the Mister Rogers Remix that came out a couple of years ago and my wife and I began talking about the influence of Mister Rogers. She kept asking me if I was going to cry (in the eyes, but not on the cheeks) and she became upset as I spoke because she never watched his program growing up. What a wonderful man and an example of a man for us, even today. Fred Rogers was an American icon. He influenced and touched many lives. He is remembered fondly by a generation of children who now have children of their own. I loved watching Mister Rogers and I even enjoy watch his spiritual successor, "Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood" with my little son.
Forgetting Fred Rogers' message to us all is easy to do in this world filled with terror. America took a dark turn after 9/11. We raised our walls, we became isolationists, and we were complicate and eager to wage war. As a nation we lost our light. We forgot about the better attributes of humanity. In a post 9/11 world we made the TSA as frightening as the IRS or the CIA. Travel was fraught with anxiety, and we were willing to spy on our neighbors and terrorize anyone who's skin color fell somewhere in-between the spectrum of white and black. We lived in fear, our minds were clouded by terror.
You can see the difference in our media and the entertainment we consume. Stations that promote fear mongering took off in ratings after 9/11. Our music became darker. Lana Del Ray, for example, beautiful voice, but very dark. Even Sleeping Beauty took a dark turn in Maleficent. These are only a few examples.
I look forward to living in a post post-9/11 world. I don't even want to teach my son about the twin towers. I don't want to infuse that kind of palpable all encompassing fear into his tender mind. The motto used to be "never forget." I want to change that motto to "forgive and move forward" or if forgive is too much right now then "Build peace."
There are entities and individuals who profited handsomely from our terror and they'd like to continue profiting by drumming up our fear. AlQuieda is no longer a great threat so now the traders of fear would have us wring our hands over ISIS or the disease we know as Ebola or people of brown skinned complexions who would cross our border with Mexico. We've lived in fear for long enough. Anyone who was old enough to pay attention on September 11, 2001 is old enough to recognize a trader of fear and should be wise enough to recognize someone who'd like to profit on fear.
Say no to these traders. Let's go back to the tenets of Mister Rogers. Loving our neighbors for who they are, not who we'd like them to be. Find the light in yourself and everyone you meet and encourage that light to grow. Fred Rogers may have passed on 11 years ago, but his message was one of life that can outlive us all.