Mr. Rogers' life lessons can help us all be better neighbors

There's something new on Pittsburgh's North Shore. It's a statue of Fred Rogers, creator of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.

The site is simple. The only moving parts are the people visiting it. It's peaceful, accessible and undemanding -- just like Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.

For decades, Fred Rogers repeated the same, simple messages to his young audience:

We are all unique -- and that's a good thing.

We are lovable -- and capable of love.

It's better to be happy.

It's okay to be angry, frightened or confused -- it happens. But it's best to talk to someone about it.

Those little "life lessons" might seem irrelevant when something horrible happens -- like the shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, or the one in Orlando, Fla.

Then again, maybe not.

When the shooting started at Fort Hood, people responded to help the injured -- even when they weren't sure if the gunfire had ended. Some even used their own clothing to make bandages to help stop the bleeding. There were heroes amid the horror.

Perhaps that's what the soft-spoken man in the cardigan sweater was trying to tell us all along. Terrible things happen. What's important is that every one of us is capable of being strong -- of helping someone in need.

Mr. Rogers would say that's just being a good neighbor.

And maybe it is.

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