Sing "What do you do with the mad that you feel?"," by Mr. Rogers; then, gird your loins

Fred Rogers and François Clemmons having a foot bath in 1969; Rogers Took a Stand Against Racial Inequality When He Invited a Black Character to Join Him in a Pool

Many of my friends and family are angry about the election. President-elect Donald J. Trump has unveiled deadly revenge plans. What to do?

Fred M. Rogers (March 20, 1928 – February 27, 2003), better known as Mister Rogers, who was an American television host, author, producer, and Presbyterian minister, wrote this song about coping with anger.

Note that Mr. Rogers’ lyrics don’t counsel surrender, despair, or quietism in the face of evil. He had studied the devastating, exorbitant Wars of Religion during the  Reformation and Counter-Reformation for years.

So had the framers of our founding charters. That's why our Constitution bars religious tests for office in Article VI and mandates separation of church and state in the 1st Amendment.

Mr. Rogers does preach the benefits of self-control. That approach was not only his opinion, but his duty as an ordained Presbyterian minister. I know that because I am a Presbyterian deacon.

Here is Mr. Rogers reciting those lyrics during his May 1, 1969 testimony before the Senate Subcommittee on Communications. His brief, pithy statement convinced Congress to restore $20 million in PBS funding that then-President Richard Nixon tried to cut.

May 1, 1969: Fred Rogers testifies before the Senate Subcommittee on Communications

Stay safe and blessed.