Sympathy for the Swanson
Parks and Recreation’s Ron Swanson lends libertarianism and conservatism some much needed humanity
In a recent article for The Atlantic titled “King of the Hill: The Last Bipartisan TV Comedy,” author Bert Clere argues that the animated sitcom about life in Texas transcended the distinctions of “red” and “blue,” and conveyed its “redneck” characters with complexity and compassion. Clere grew up in rural North Carolina, and saw his own world in King of the Hill.
Clere opens his article with the broad statement that while conservatives watch crime dramas and reality shows, “liberals generally love quirky comedies like Community, Parks and Recreation, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and The Mindy Project.” While his article is truly excellent, there is a modern TV character that embodies the same compassionate conservatism that Clere has declared dead since King of the Hill last aired six years ago, and that character is tucked away right in the very list of shows Clere labels as most liberal: Parks and Recreation’s Ron Swanson.
Ron Swanson is a libertarian wet-dream smuggled into the TVs and MacBook Pros of liberals everywhere in a zany, big-government-loving, Amy Poehler-shaped Trojan horse. Ron, played to perfection by comedian Nick Offerman, is a glimpse into the foundation and underpinnings of conservative thought.
Parks and Recreation premiered in 2009, only a year after Obama was first elected to the presidency. It is a fundamentally liberal show, as Clere mentions: it centers on Poehler’s Leslie Knope, a big-hearted bureaucrat who wants her government to be even bigger. She works in the office of parks and recreation, runs for city council, and at the end of the show, runs the Midwest office of the National Parks service (and in a flash forward at the end of the series, she is governor of Indiana, and it is hinted that she or her husband are the president).
Ron is Leslie’s foil. When Leslie pushes projects and pass laws that expand government programs and parks, Ron suggests everything should be privatized, including selling the parks to Chuck E. Cheese. When Leslie tries to curb the eating habits of her town, Pawnee, which is one of the most obese places in the country, Ron sees this as a limitation of personal freedom, saying: “The whole point of this country is if you want to eat garbage, balloon up to 600 pounds, and die of a heart attack at 43, you can, you are free to do so. To me, that’s beautiful.”
The best summation of Ron’s personality and political convictions is the “Swanson Pyramid of Greatness,” a poster he coaches a children’s basketball team in the third season premiere. The full image is below, but an extended scene from the episode that shows Ron explaining the pyramid also available for everyone’s amusement.
There are many ridiculous aspects of the pyramid, including a deep aversion to skim milk, but the pyramid acts as a visualization of Ron’s beliefs, including:
- Property Rights: they exist. Do not let them be taken away from you.
- Welfare Avoidance
- America: the only country that matters.
- Capitalism: God’s way of determining who is smart and who is poor.
While this may read as satire (and to a small extent, it is), but the pyramid also reveals Ron’s humanity. He also covets friends, teamwork, and — at the top of the pyramid, above all else — honor. This is what makes Ron such a great character. Although his beliefs are radically different from the show’s audience, he is still a relatable character — and this humanizing helps to break down the party divide.
Much like Clere, I grew up in a rural town in Wisconsin, where seas of red cornfields and factories flank blue cities. In a mock election during middle school, I was one of two kids in my whole class to “vote” Democrat — or rather, parrot my Democratic parents. There was a “Drive Your Tractor to School” day. Every spring, my morning bus ride smelled like manure. I didn’t need to watch King of the Hill growing up — I lived it. Once I had that high school diploma in hand, I got the hell out of dodge, fleeing to greener, more liberal pastures.
At my famously left-leaning university, I surrounded myself with people who shared my same political ideology. This was fantastic at first; I spent so much of my adolescence as a political outcast, being around like-minded peers was affirming. However, as universities and art schools are often populated by the same insular liberal groups, I was soon caught in an echo chamber. With my ideology set in stone, I became rigidly opposed to the political ideas of others.
Ron Swanson taught me — and I suspect others of my peer group — to understand and have compassion for the beliefs of others. Even if I disagree with Ron’s politics, I learned that some of the principles of conservatism (small government, personal freedom and right to privacy, and opposition to taxes) are much more sound and interesting when not couched in hateful, ignorant rhetoric.
Ron is a complex and compelling character, reminding me that the conservatives I grew up around are just as multifaceted as he is, and that their political beliefs need not necessarily negate a friendship with them. Ron’s relationship with the rest of the show’s characters should remind people on both sides of the aisle that bipartisanship and working together is far preferable to our current divided state.
