More than any generation previous, ours has heard warnings of the perils of racism, sexism, homophobia and a lack of respect for diversity. I have encountered the word diversity with such relentless regularity that it has joined other buzzwords (change, wellness, tolerance, sensitivity, national security) in the scrap heap of words so familiar to me that they breed not contempt but plain indifference. You cannot blame the intentions, though; I doubt anyone could reasonably argue against a shift away from the cultural mores that brought about Jim Crow laws, the senseless murder of Matthew Shepard or the implicit limits on career possibilities for women.

But has this unprecedented effort to make this generation the most sensitive and tolerant been effective? In one respect, sure; locally, the overwhelming feeling among people on this campus was that except for perhaps the “artist” him or herself, scrawling a racial epithet on the wall is the work of an ignorant, childish individual. On the national scale, certain movements, namely the election of President Obama or the push for equal marriage rights for same-sex partners, characterize a young generation ready to move past the prejudices of the past.

However, the popularity of television shows such as “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” or “South Park” suggests that people’s tastes in the living room differ from the classroom or voting booth. Both of these shows are stubbornly politically incorrect and crass, while at the same time among the most popular shows on cable television. Whether it is South Park’s parody of the 2004 election that pitted a turd sandwich against a douche-bag in a race to determine the school’s mascot or Mac and Dennis’ cynical and tactless attempts to pick up women from opposite sides of an abortion rally during an episode of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” these shows resonate and are popular with American young adults.

Some might view this as yet another obstacle to overcome in the fight for a sanitized and utterly inoffensive world, but I believe these shows offer an important outlet for our generation. These shows give people an opportunity to laugh at the ignorance and narcissism of an actor; cable television viewers, although often not high on the intellectual ladder, are not primates only capable of imitation; these shows offer a perspective on what prejudice and ignorance really look like, and it is not something most strive to imitate.

Anyone with just a cursory exposure to either of these shows may find it difficult to reconcile its offensive content with a world view that values diversity and tolerance; I suspect, though, that with enough viewings will come the realization that the razor-sharp irony and spot-on caricatures make these shows a valuable contribution to television.