The South Park team’s marionette movie, “Team America: World Police,” was released 20 years ago, during the Iraq War, when patriotism was running high and Hollywood action movies pandered to it. Trey Parker and Matt Stone mocked both America’s imperialism and Hollywood’s outspoken liberal contingent, but the list of American cultural exports – McDonald’s! Disney World! Starbucks! Rock and roll! Fake tits! – that Parker recites in the film’s unofficial theme song, “America, Fuck Yeah!” had clear critical, as well as humorous, intent.
In a case that supports the theory that conservatives don’t understand sarcasm, they have embraced the nationalistic spirit of the song as sincere. For a couple of years now Joe Rogan, whose opinions have become inexplicably influential considering he used to get kicked in the head for a living, has sent out an Independence Day message using the three-word phrase. Once intended to disparage nativism, it’s now a nativist rallying cry. I’ll be surprised if Trump doesn’t adopt it as his own.
