Trey Parker and Matt Stone are nihilists.

I watched an episode of South Park last night about Hybrid Cars. I am sure the readers that watch South Park have seen it. In the episode, everyone in South Park is inspired to buy Hybrid Cars. A synopsis:

"Stan persuades all the citizens of South Park to buy hybrid cars. A disaster of epic proportions threatens the town and Stan is to blame -- just as everyone starts to feel really good about what they're doing to help save the earth, scientists discover a stormy, dark mass accumulating over the town."

The "disaster" they speak of is a cloud of "smug" that envelops South Park and threatens its' existence. This, of course, implys that everyone that drives a hybrid car is full of themselves. It implys that since they are doing something good, that they think that are better than those that drive SUVs. In this writer's opinion, they are. The episode makes a crack at those that say, "be part of the solution, not part of the problem". What is funny about that statement? Nothing. If everyone adopted that state of mind, things could be very different. Since so many people adopt the American "rugged individualism" frame of mind, nothing ever changes. You know, that macho "I'll do whatever the f*#& I want and leave me alone! Wal-Mart has awesome prices! I'm gonna eat my ass off and be fat as shit! Give me a steak and a cheeseburger for breakfast!" attitude.

Personally, I don't think South Park is very funny. It is clever, but not very funny. I find people constantly asking me, "Have you seen the South Park episode when...?" I always have to answer that I don't really watch South Park. (Then again, the only TV show that I have consistently watched over the last few years is 24, The Office, and American Idol.) Every time I happen to watch South Park, they always seem to be making fun of a group of people. Whether they be Christians, Jews, Muslims, Lord Of The Rings fans, porn freaks, right wing, left wing, or environmentalist Hybrid car drivers. I get it. That is their jist. Make fun of everyone. Offend everyone = comedy. But it gets old eventually. At least for those that demand more. It makes me wonder, can a show truly have value when its' only purpose is to make fun of everyone? At some point, shouldn't all art stand for something? Yes, I consider South Park art. In the end, some opinions they satirize might not be actual opinions. Some of them are correct beliefs with firm absoluteness.

The episode I write about is one of those "opinions". It is a fact that energy from fossil fuels is the root of the world's 21st century violence. (Put the 20th century in there, too.) We have been sucking energy out of dinosaur juice for over 100 years. There has been little advance in automobile engines. Sure, they have fancy engine computers now, but it is still a combustible engine getting you to the mall. If it were possible to help eliminate our dependence on middle-eastern oil with the snap of a finger, things could be vastly different. But every time the fingers get ready to snap, they have been silenced by politicians, oil companies, and their collective money.

When an automobile company takes a step in the right direction (i.e. - Hybrids), I am highly impressed. Car companies have been circle-jerking with big oil for years. While Hybrids are only a baby step, it is a step. This swing of the pendulum came after many years of SUV madness. For a mass of people to care enough to be early adopters of this technology, I applaud them. This is how things change. Montgomery buses don't get desegregated without Rosa Parks saying "No."

Trey Parker and Matt Stone irresponsibly knock the folk that are trying to, a) end environmental damage caused by oil b) end American dependence on foreign oil, and c) change the conversation about where energy can come from. You know who I find to be smug? I think the assholes that drive gas guzzling Hummers are smug. The materialistic hacks that have to make up for their penis size by driving huge cars are smug (small cars make your penis look bigger). Celebrities on E! and MTV Cribs with their smug collection of cars. The Moms driving the Navigators and Escalades that tour your local shopping mall? The ones with little show-off stickers with their soccer-playing, cheerleading kid's names; usually names like Morgan, Dylan, Jacob, and Madison? They have smug-stink oozing from their orifices. In fact, when I am driving, I have 'bigger' words than smug. And contrary to South Park's satire, they cloud their air with smug and SUV smog.

Do Trey Parker and Matt Stone think it is OK to tell their audience that Hybrid cars are for assholes? That everyone should keep driving huge cars? I don't see how you can expect allare ridiculous! Matt and Trey did it again! Genius!" I say more often than not. I don't give the general public credit to know the difference. viewers to know the difference between comedy and buying into a real South Park ethos. How many fans think it is more than comedy when the show makes light of Christians (all the time)? How many of them say, "Yeah, those Christians really

In the last 60 seconds of the show, the town declares that they can drive Hybrid cars and not be "smug". They then realize they would just rather take the easy route and drive SUVs. I don't think a 60-second message where the people consider a change of heart is enough to make up for the rest of the episode, which is an onslaught of Hybrid-knocking. They cleverly call the Hybrid car "Pious". Hardy har.