--- description: How the sitcom has cheerfully made the case for a "liberal" idea that didn't used to be considered so liberal. title: Knope and Change: The Politics of Parks and Recreation image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt52406012529e6bc3/69877b40e20a875eafa84a60/nup_165648_0283.jpg?branch=production&width=1920&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Knope and Change: The Politics of _Parks and Recreation_ by [James Poniewozik](/author/james-poniewozik/) ## James Poniewozik Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 22, 2015 2:24 PM CUT  PARKS AND RECREATION -- "William Henry Harrison" Episode 705 -- Pictured: Amy Poehler as Leslie Knope -- (Photo by: Colleen Hayes/NBC) PARKS AND RECREATION -- "William Henry Harrison" Episode 705 -- Pictured: Amy Poehler as Leslie Knope -- (Photo by: Colleen Hayes/NBC)Colleen Hayes/NBC by [James Poniewozik](/author/james-poniewozik/) ## James Poniewozik Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 22, 2015 2:24 PM CUT [Reviewing “Leslie and Ron” earlier this week](http://time.com/3676201/parks-and-recreation-review-leslie-ron/ "undefined"), I wrote that part of the appeal of _Parks and Recreation_, specifically Leslie and Ron’s friendship, is that it’s a model–or fantasy–of how people of opposite politics can still work together and care about each other. It’s a sitcom about politics that works, in part, because of how its characters put friendship over politics–or at least aside from politics. But what about the show’s politics itself? I wrote about that in [my farewell column to _Parks_](http://time.com/3678065/knope-and-change/ "undefined") in the print TIME this week (subscription required). Even though _Parks_ has never been assertively political (it’s foremost a workplace sitcom, set in a world as richly developed as _The Simpsons_‘ Springfield), and it’s generally avoided real-world, hot-button issues, the show does have politics in its way. _Parks_‘ politics, like Leslie’s, are liberal. But “liberal” only in the sense that the definition of _liberal_ has been shifted rightward, along with the general conversation about government and what it’s for, over the past few decades: --- > “” --- One reason, I think, that _Parks_‘ politics don’t play especially “political” is that they grow out of a worldview that goes way beyond politics: about the importance of community, the idea that people need each other, that when you help someone, you’re also helping to make yourself better. That community goes well beyond government–it’s friends, neighbors, businesses–but _Parks_ doesn’t hesitate to say that government, however imperfect and ludicrous, is another aspect of community, not an outside force imposed on legitimate community. (At the same time, though, it’s been respectful of the opposition view, if only by putting it in the mouth of Ron Swanson, the most awesome man on the planet.) [I’ve written this before](http://entertainment.time.com/2011/12/09/parks-and-recreation-watch-clear-eyes-full-hearts-cant-lose/ "undefined"), but this is one of the biggest things _Parks_ has in common with American stories from _It’s a Wonderful Life_ to _Friday Night Lights_, a touchstone that Parks has referenced repeatedly. People in _FNL_ were liberal or conservative or neither; community meant everything from teams to churches to school systems. But the constant was that nobody does anything alone. So it is on _Parks_: it’s only by pulling together that you turn a pit into the Pawnee Commons. In its own little way, that central story has made the case for what didn’t used to be such a divisive idea: that there is such a thing as the public common, and that it’s a good thing. Congratulations, Leslie and _Parks_: [You built that](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You%5Fdidn%27t%5Fbuild%5Fthat "undefined"). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3678205/parks-and-recreation-politics/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3678205/parks-and-recreation-politics/"},"headline":"Knope and Change: The Politics of Parks and Recreation","datePublished":"2015-01-22T14:24:33.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T03:47:11.122Z","description":"How the sitcom has cheerfully made the case for a \"liberal\" idea that didn't used to be considered so liberal.","url":"https://time.com/3678205/parks-and-recreation-politics/","keywords":["Television","politics","parks and recreation"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt52406012529e6bc3/69877b40e20a875eafa84a60/nup_165648_0283.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"James Poniewozik","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/james-poniewozik/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt52406012529e6bc3/69877b40e20a875eafa84a60/nup_165648_0283.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Parks and Recreation - Season 7","caption":"Parks and Recreation - Season 7","creditText":"Colleen Hayes/NBC","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3678205/parks-and-recreation-politics/","name":"Knope and Change: The Politics of Parks and Recreation"}}]}] ```