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Thursday, March 28
The Indiana Daily Student

national

Leslie Knope faces reality

Leslie Knope, the hopelessly optimistic director of the Pawnee, Ind., parks department on NBC’s “Parks and Recreation,” faced a brutal reality in last week’s season opener: You cannot rely on the government to fix all your problems.

Hoping to secure federal funds for a local river-cleaning project, Knope travels to Washingon, D.C., to personally persuade the U.S. Department of the Interior to take on her project.

She discovers there that the department would not make an effort to honor her meeting request.

Moreover, she discovers that her proposal is just one of hundreds the agency has to review.

She realizes the futility of trying to secure federal funding, so she resolves to clean up the river herself with the help of individuals in the community.

Knope, a stereotypical, government-worshipping liberal, gives a big “F— you” to Uncle Sam.

The episode reminds me of the Hawaiians who, during the massive 2009 stimulus give-away, refused to wait on the government to fix their problems.

A vital road that provides access to Polihale State Park on Kauai had been damaged as a result of severe flooding in December 2008.

The damage halted the local economy, which depends on the tourism the park attracts.

The Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources estimated that the damage would cost $4 million and take two years to complete.

The only problem was that the department didn’t have $4 million, and the residents didn’t have two years to wait around.

So, they took matters into their own hands. The HDLNR found local businesses to donate machinery and man power, and they got to work on March 23, 2009.

In eight days, the road was repaired at a total cost of $0 (minus wages lost, which would have been far greater had they waited for the government to act).

The people stimulated their community themselves.

They did it in a more efficient manner than the government could ever achieve.

If only the people of Bloomington would come together to finish our massive road projects.

Then, just maybe, I could get to College Mall from campus in fewer than 30 minutes.
The government can be good in small doses (and is, at times, essential).

But serving the people giant portions of it denies them the option of using their God-given talent and drive to achieve something.

Large federal programs like the ’09 stimulus package, Obamacare and, most recently, QE3, are pessimistic in nature.

They do not represent the belief that the individual is strong or wise enough to exercise liberty.

If Leslie Knope realizes this, when will real liberals?

­— arcarlis@indiana.edu

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