Politics vs. Public Service imagineabitofmagic imagineabitofmagic Behind the cut you will find my thoughts on the difference between politics and public service as characterized by Ben Wyatt and Leslie Knope, and ultimately why Ben Wyatt should be in politics in 2017. Sitting in a bar at 10am on a week day, both Ben Wyatt and Leslie Knope offer up one of their life ambitions: to someday run for office. It only takes us 18 minutes into the character development of Ben Wyatt to know that he wants a future in politics so bad that he has spent the last 16+ years trying to make up for the mistakes in his past to make his dream a reality. While Ben’s ambition never blatantly presents itself again, Leslie’s is constantly reiterated over the course of the next four seasons. Because of that, it’s easy to forget Ben’s passion for politics, especially when weighed against Leslie’s vocal one, but it does a grave disservice to his character to let the information slip from the mind. Ben Wyatt doesn’t just love the idea of politics, he has lived it, breathed it, and has been tortured by it, yet he still desires to return. That’s serious devotion to a career that we too often forget. Leslie on the other hand has devoted her entire life to public service. She has spent countless hours in public forums, in rec center classes, and in government bureaucracy. Her devotion to Pawnee shows that she wants to do everything she can to better the lives of those in her community. She wants people to get the most out of life, to have government watch out for them, and to see those around her flourish. Essentially, she wants to impact people through her work like the women that she has looked up to since she was a little girl: Eleanor Roosevelt, Madeleine Albright, Hillary Clinton, her mother. She has a thirst to change the world for the better. In her mind, being an elected official, more specifically The President of the United States, is the top of a large pyramid, the symbol of the greatest height in which her influence can bestow good on people. That’s why Leslie Knope wants to run for office. It’s not rooted in a love for politics like Ben Wyatt, but in a love for public service. Both sides of politics exist and both are extremely important to the field. There is no denying that. People from all walks of life get involved in politics to bestow change, both physically and ideologically. The desire to do good is there. But politics is also about strategy, data, and competition. It takes having a knack for both to really enjoy being a politician because if not, you’ll end up hating one side of it. The most effective politicians are the ones that are able to Watercooler Journal
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balance the strategy and manipulative sides with the desire to change the world for the better. While Leslie Knope has the service side down, Benjamin Wyatt encompasses both. Ben makes the tough calls for the health of government. As an auditor, Ben went town to town making difficult cuts to budgets and staffs with little resistance because he knew it would be better overall. He didn’t hesitate to make the tough calls in favor of a better the community. Then he ran Leslie’s campaign for City Council and fully immersed himself into the political life that he had left so long ago. He wrote speeches, gave her debate tips, and strategized her moves to get her elected. The political operation was run by Ben to get Leslie into the position so she could enact change. After she was elected, Ben continued to be a driving force behind her political life. He strategized with her for votes, continued to write her speeches, and ultimately told her it was time to give up her career as an elected official, at least for the time being. He was the one she ran to when things were feeling cruel and it’s because he understood them and was more willing to make the harsh calls. And of course, do not forget that the only thing Ben was willing to leave Pawnee for was to run a congressional campaign. If he didn’t truly love it, Ben would never have gone. It was the only thing that he was willing to weigh against his relationship with Leslie. Now I want to make this clear, Leslie’s wish to be President does not come off as naïve or green to me. It is a valid dream for every person working in government and the political field. As I stated, it represents a beacon of hope and influence to push the country forward. Both politicians and public servants can usually unite under that idea. It’s only when you truly get your first real dose of being an elected official that you really understand the two sides to the coin. Leslie not being specifically suited for politics isn’t demeaning to her young self who always dreamed of that. Quite the opposite. By being elected, enacting the change she believed in, and ultimately being rejected for it, she realized that the change she really wants to see can more effectively be brought through public service instead of politics. Instead of wasting time on speeches and meet and greets, Leslie can roll up her sleeves and really get to work. She can create far greater things in Pawnee as a Regional Director of the National Parks Service than she could have dreamed from the Oval Office. It’s an evolution of a dream and it’s absolutely beautiful. My hope is that Ben Wyatt enters politics when Parks and Recreation returns 3 years in the future. It’s the career that he’s always wanted but it’s also the career that he’s suited for. He loves strategy
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(Cones of Dunshire), data (accounting), and public service. The balance between the three is what is most important when weighing his viability in the vicious field. The everyday duties of politics don’t get in the way of his work like they did with Leslie because they are his work. Ben Wyatt loves politics, every side of it.
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