How do we make goodness attractive

The power of media creation, once the domain of experts, has been put into the hands of everybody thorough social media. I believe it is our responsibility to create and share what promotes good. The late TV show host, Mr Rogers, speaks of his great respect for and understanding of the power of television—“How do we make goodness attractive?”

“Those of us who are in television are chosen to be servants. It doesn’t matter what our particular job. We are chosen to meet the deeper needs of those who watch and listen day and night. The conductor of the orchestra at the Hollywood Bowl grew up in a family that had little interest in music. But he often tells people he found his early inspiration from the fine musicians on television. Last month a 13 year-old boy abducted an eight year old and when people asked him why, he said he learned about it from tv, something different to try. He said life is cheap, what does it matter?

Well life isn’t cheap. It’s the greatest mystery of any millennium, and television needs to do all it can to broadcast that. To show and tell what the good in life is what life is all about. But how do we make goodness attractive? By doing all we can to bring courage to those whose lives move near our own. By treating our neighbour at least as well as we treat ourselves. And allowing that to inform everything that we produce…

We all have only one life on earth. And through television, we have the choice to demean this life or to cherish it in creative, imaginative ways…” – Fred Rogers, a.k.a. Mr Rogers

We cannot teach our young values by saying “no” to this and “no” to that. For that is only short lived. We must go a step further and help them transform from consumers to creators. We can create things that draws from within us that which calls forth what is beautiful. We were made for beauty.

We are to be part of redemption. As we create, we give people a space to choose between what is grotesque and what is beautiful. The challenge is not that there are bad stuff out that. The challenge is that we have not given voice to what is good.