Culturebox: Hate Thy Neighbor

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culturebox Hate Thy Neighbor The politics of Parks and Recreation. By Juliet Lapidos Posted Monday, April 25, 2011, at 6:45 AM ET Perhaps you've come across a variant of the following saying: Liberals worry about the people they don't know; conservatives worry about the people they do know. Alternatively: Democrats like helping people in the abstract but aren't neighborly, while Republicans love their neighbors but don't give a damn about strangers. I've been turning over these pat phrases recently for reasons that have nothing to do with politics. They've been on my mind because I finally got around to NBC's Parks and Recreation, catching up with the first three seasons in an embarrassingly short amount of time. The abstract vs. personal take on liberals and conservatives, it seems to me, is the show's guiding principle, or central cliche. Shot in a mockumentary style, the comedy follows Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler), deputy director of the Parks and Recreation department in the fictional town of Pawnee, Indiana. Leslie never states her party affiliation explicitly, and she adorns her office walls with photographs of female politicians from both sides of the aisle: Nancy Pelosi and Margaret Thatcher, Madeleine Albright and Condoleezza Rice. Nonetheless, it's clear that we're meant to think of Leslie as a liberal: She's a dedicated bureaucrat who believes in public projects. In Season 1, Leslie tries to turn an abandoned construction pit into a park; in the third, she plans a harvest festival. And she's relentlessly optimistic about the democratic process. She says of her experience with community forums, "These people ... care about where they live. So what I hear when I'm being yelled at is people caring loudly at me." To continue reading, click here. Juliet Lapidos is a Slate associate editor. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate Saletan: Stop Calling Drones "Killer Robots." They're Not Robots at All. How Can Judges Decide When Threats Against Judges Are Protected by the First Amendment? The Perfect Summer Dress: It Must Be Sleeveless (but Not Too Short)	Advertisement
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