Making satirical comedy is pretty tough these days. There’s little you could say in jest that isn’t likely to happen in reality the next day. You can’t exaggerate things that are already at the outer limits of hyperbole. That’s why some of the most effective attempts at mocking the current state of things comes in just, well, showing them. Or, if you’re a little more clever, re-contextualizing them just a bit.

The much-beloved show Parks & Recreation often portrayed the unhinged antics of town-hall attendees and the exhausted but patient responses of the core cast. This year, we’ve seen the public-forum craziness hit new heights with deeply misguided people everywhere flinging around their pandemic conspiracy theories instead of just, you know, listening to doctors.

Combine the fiction with the fact and you get this beautiful mash-up from Twitter user @LawJSharma:

https://twitter.com/LawJSharma/status/1275990086262198272

Real clips from real people in 2020 combined with reactions from the fictional governance of Pawneee, Indiana. It’s hard to believe the entire thing isn’t scripted.

You’ve got the obligatory “plandemic” quips to start with of course, because if a word sounds clever, it MUST be true.

Then there are the even less coherent contributions, like this woman who believes that health precautions are a way to…hide from God?

Apparently?

This upstanding citizen would like you very much to know all the things she isn’t (warning: it’s a long and exotic list.)

And what would any town hall be without some straight up lies?

It’s all enough to make you wanna follow Ron Swanson’s example and just chuck your window to the outside world right into the garbage.

Source: NBC

But hey – the mashup was pretty funny. And maybe if we work hard, we can get our country looking a little less like a parody of itself. Please? Please soon?

What do you think a Parks and Rec episode would look like if the show were set in 2020?

Tell us your ideas in the comments.