The Christ-Like Will Rogers

"We will never have true civilization until we have learned to recognize the rights of others." - Will Rogers

Will Rogers, the Cherokee Native-American cowboy from Oklahoma, was America's most beloved humorist and journalist in the 1930s, when he kept Americans laughing and lifted their spirits during the Great Depression. Raised a Methodist, he was ecumenical in his respect for all faith traditions. He advised: "Hunt out and talk about the good that is in the other fellow's church, and you will do away with all the religious hatred you hear so much of today." He needled the politicians of both parties hilariously, and politicians in both parties invited him to run for President, but he refused. Over 100,000 mourners walked by Roger's casket at his ecumenical funeral service. One Protestant pastor said of Rogers: "He (Jesus) makes the most sense to me, the most profound impact on me, when I envision him as Will Rogers in sandals."