My Weekend Crush

Let us talk, for a moment, about the singularly special television creation that is Leslie Knope. You see, TV hasn’t always been friendly to the Leslie Knopes of the world – especially of late. Primetime has become a place for cynics and smartasses, fast talkers and slick walkers. We like our characters to be badass or sassy or oh-so snarky. Not that there’s anything wrong with snarky – or any of those other qualities. But what makes the world so fun is the variation, the yin to their yang. And so what TV all too often lacks is the eternal optimist. The dreamer. The person who only ever walks on the sunny side of the street. Being optimistic just doesn’t seem cool. We’re a nation of pessimists that delight in the culture of fail. But we can’t all just point and laugh when things go wrong. Some of us have to believe that things will go right, and make it so. And that person, on TV, is Leslie Knope from “Parks and Recreation.”

Leslie is so many things. Amy Poehler called her “open-face sandwich. You always know what you’re going to get.” And that’s so true. There’s no great mystery to her, and that’s kind of wonderful. What we see instead is hard work, enthusiasm, dependability, compassion and hope. She’s just nice – and it’s sad how rare that has become. Leslie believes the world can be better, and that she can help make it so. Sure, sometimes she bumbles. But it’s not out of incompetence but usually lack of insider savvy. Leslie is supremely competent, and I love how over the course of the series she’s become even more so. She didn’t become Michael Scott light. She became something so much better. She’s the closer. She’s the hero – or “shero,” as she’s no doubt say in a blaze of feminist glory. She’s a source of good in the Pawnee, Ind. and the universe. She’s all that, and also adorable, infectious and the kind of gal you know you could be friends with forever. And she’s always in a blazer and you know how I love a lady in a blazer. We could all use a little more Leslie Knope in our lives. Happy weekend, all.

p.s. Oh, another thing about Leslie – she is also a human emoticon.

[Image by conanofallon.]