Matt Groening on politics in Life In Hell

GROTH: One of the things that occurred to me about Life in Hell is that the politics of the strip usually center on what I call the private realm, that is, personal relationships, the work place, schools. Unlike something like Doonesbury, you don't address national politics.
GROENING: The last few weeks of Life in Hell have been devoted to the Gulf War, but you're right. When I got the opportunity to draw my comic, I wanted to do what was on my mind, the stuff that keeps me worried: love, work, sex, death -- the basics. I was always amazed that so many cartoons either dealt with political ideas in a very heavy-handed way, or concentrated on the trivial inconsequentialities of life, while the hellishness of most people's jobs and love lives and fear of death remain unexplored.
GROTH: Would that suggest that you're not a highly politicized or ideological person?
GROENING: If I could get my political point of view across and be funny, I'd do it. But when I've tried to do political humor, it's just not very funny. I've done political strips from time to time -- and there are politics implied in all of my stuff -- but part of my stance is to let people find the message and decide about it themselves rather then me declare it. In fact, that's about as far as I'll go in talking about my stuff. It's not for me to say, but if other people find it there, I'm glad.
GROTH: So you've felt compelled to address the Gulf war in your strip.
GROENING: I was just about to begin a long series of cartoons called "Binky's Guide to Love," sort of revised and expanded look at Love Is Hell. Then the war started, and I've been doing strips with Akbar and Jeff in gas masks, talking about the war.
GROTH: This may become evident once I dig out those strips, but what's your take on the war?
GROENING: I think it's a disaster. I think it's bad for the world, it's bad for the United States, and will not achieve the stated goals used to justify the war. The comic strip I just finished begins with the question: "I don't mean to be impertinent, but how do we know when we've won?" I'm certainly glad the war seems to be as successful as it is, but we don't really know what's happening because everything's censored.
GROTH: Is this the first time you've actually tackled a major current event in a series of strips?
GROENING: I did some stuff knocking Reagan. In fact, Life in Hell started in 1980, the time of Reagan, and I swore that if Bush hadn't been elected president that I would have changed the name of the strip to Life Is Swell. It didn't happen that way.
GROTH: I assume, generally speaking, that your politics are left-of-center?
GROENING: I like to think of myself as middle-of-the-road, but the rest of our culture would define me as loony-left.
GROTH: The rest of the right-wing culture. But you never seem, even in private conversation, very dogmatic about it.
GROENING: First of all, it's very hard to persuade anybody to change his mind. I think one mistake people on the left have made is to allow themselves to get so angry and resentful that their lashing back is guaranteed to make sure that their message is dismissed. I think Life in Hell has an appeal because it's in the guise of something friendly, despite the title. I hope I'm getting under people's skin as well as entertaining them.