Ron Swanson of “Parks and Recreation” (2009) is the best character on television right now.

Swanson, played by Nick Offerman, is the head of the parks department and main character Leslie Knope’s (Amy Poehler) boss.

His manliness is his defining characteristic, yet all of his idiosyncrasies are utterly unique and absolutely hilarious, especially during moments when his macho demeanor crumbles.

Exceedingly masculine characters are rampant on television. Don Draper, for instance, dominates 1960s New York as he drinks and womanizes to his heart’s content.

Draper looks like his daughter, Sally, compared to Ron Swanson.

Swanson drinks Lagavulin 16 almost exclusively and is essentially a carnivore. According to Swanson, salad “is the food my food eats.” When a steak he orders doesn’t live up to his expectations, he sends it back and says his most well-known line from the show, “Give me all the bacon and eggs you have.”

He ensures future generations will maintain his manly standards. As troop leader of the Pawnee Rangers, he wrote the whole handbook himself. It contains one sentence: “Be a man.”

Swanson holds the same attitude in coaching youth basketball. He utilizes the Ron Swanson “Pyramid of Greatness,” which will help change his players “from boys into men, from men into gladiators and from gladiators into Swansons!”

This “pyramid” consists of categories with guidelines by which to live. For instance, “Body grooming — only women shave beneath the neck” and “Cursing — there’s only one bad word: taxes.”

Swanson’s hardcore Libertarian beliefs add another dimension to his character and make him relevant to contemporary politics. Swanson believes so much in individual liberty and protection from government that he refuses to tell any of his co-workers where he lives.

As the head of a department, his disdain for all forms of government instills a paradoxical irony, and his interaction with his equally indignant assistant, April Ludgate (Aubrey Plaza), produces some of the funniest moments of the show.

The only reason he works in government is to try and subvert it. When he’s told in a meeting that city expenditures need to be cut by 32 percent, he responds, “Why not make it an even 40? Slash it! Slash it!”

Despite his attempts at espionage, honor is of utmost importance to Swanson. In fact, it’s at the top of the Pyramid of Greatness with the explanation, “If you need it defined, you don’t have it.”

Swanson practices what he preaches. When his witnesses want to lie for him during an assault hearing, Swanson makes them re-testify, even if it means losing the case. He explains: “There’s only one thing I hate more than lying: skim milk, which is water that’s lying about being milk.”

Besides his principle character traits, there are many quirks to Swanson that make him even more entertaining.

For instance, he secretly fronts a jazz trio under the pseudonym Duke Silver, and is like a rock god to middle-aged women who worship his saxophone skills.

Tiger Woods always wears red in the final rounds of golf tournaments because it makes him feel unstoppable. Swanson does the same on days after he has sex.

Still, his stern, resolute demeanor has its weaknesses. The presence of Lil’ Sebastian, a miniature horse and local legend, makes Swanson giggle like a child. Riddles, too, induce a goofy guffaw out of the macho, mustached man.

These simple things that produce brief breakdowns of Swanson’s serious aura make him a more human and complete character who is more relatable to viewers.

Swanson’s character traits are taken to uncompromising extremes. His manliness, contempt for government and moral code embody who Ron Swanson is, and make him a character unlike any other.

He’s Ron F-ing Swanson. And he’s the best character on television.

James O’Hare is a senior history and political science major. His column appears weekly. He loves cheeseburgers. He can be reached at [email protected]

Published on April 23, 2013 at 8:40 am