On May 1, 1969, a soft-spoken children’s television host named Fred Rogers sat before a Senate subcommittee. Funding for public television was on the line, and the chairman, Senator John Pastore, called himself a pretty tough guy. Rogers didn’t read his prepared statement. He just talked about children. He explained that his show dealt with things like getting a haircut and the anger kids feel in families, and how he ended each program telling every child, “There’s no person in the whole world like you, and I like you, just the way you are.” Then he recited the words of a song about what to do with the mad that you feel. Pastore said he had goose bumps and told him, “Looks like you just earned the 20 million dollars.”
