On yesterday’s CBS Sunday Morning News, the creators of South Park, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, were interviewed. The interviewer pointed out that the show’s political commentary is one of the reasons for the show’s popularity. When she asked them if they liked “sticking it to the conservatives or the liberals better” they responded:

Lately liberals. Liberals get so mad when you make fun of them.

At the end of the segment, they continue:

We’re very middle of the road, middle ground people. It’s just that no one can figure out… There is a disconnect between how do you do something that’s counterculture and also not exclusively liberal. People just can’t figure it out and their brains just short out.

Interesting interview. It is available to download here, complete with an introduction by an animated Charles Osgood.

As a “South Park Republican” myself, I completely agree with their observation that a non-liberal counterculture is seen as odd by the rest of society. Everyone is expected to be a member of one of two camps: liberal or conservative, Red or Blue. So you reluctantly pick one and immediately get tarred with preconceptions about what you believe in. “Oh, you’re a Republican…” The left goes: “You fool, you support X instead of Y!” While the mainstream right goes: “You’re a fine young patriot for supporting X over Y!” When you finally get around to telling them that you support Z, both sides look at you funny. Their brains really do short out.

Luckily, shows like South Park are on the air to show that you don’t have to be liberal to be counterculture. Sooner or later, all the kids who watched the show behind their parents’ backs will grow up. Hopefully, the lessons that they learned from the foul-mouthed fourth-graders will translate into a real transformation in our political culture. I’m waiting for the day when South Park’s libertarianism becomes mainstream, and liberals and social conservatives are the ones looked at funny. In the mean time, I’ll keep doing my part on this blog to help make it happen.