Do we like them?

Do we like Ron Swanson?

A character from Parks and Recreation (2009-2015)

Our score: 8 out of 10. Yes, we'd back him. He's a gruff loner who hates his own job, but he's fiercely loyal to his friends and never lets them down when it counts.

Ron Swanson is the director of the Pawnee, Indiana Parks and Recreation Department. He's a staunch libertarian who thinks government should do next to nothing, and he runs his own department to match. He puts almost no effort into the job and wants as little to do with the public as possible. Across the series he's the immovable, deadpan counterweight to Leslie Knope, his endlessly enthusiastic deputy, who wants to use the department to improve the town.

Ron is a man of simple pleasures: woodworking, meat, good scotch and silence. He's also far kinder than he lets on. He rarely tells anyone he cares, but he looks out for his coworkers in his own gruff way. Leslie's dreams are the clearest case. He grumbles about them, yet he's usually the first to back her when she needs it. Time Out describes him as staunchly libertarian yet surprisingly tenderhearted, which sums him up well.

That's why he scores high. The harm he causes is small and mostly comic, since he's just a man who really doesn't want to fill in forms. The good he does is real. His loyalty, integrity and quiet generosity make him one of the most dependable people in Pawnee. We'd happily follow him into a woodshop, a diner or a fight with city hall.

As the series goes on, Ron's guarded life softens. He lets himself into a real, honest relationship and eventually becomes a father, introducing his son John with the kind of dry pride only he could manage. Seeing him open up is part of why fans love him.