The world’s angriest comedian returns to Monterey, rage intact and ready to take on, well, everything.

Lewis Black’s enraged rants, laced with sarcasm, cynicism, rhetoric, frustration and four-letter words help him connect with his audience. At least that’s how Black explains his popularity.

“[The audience] has been frustrated a lot longer than me,” he says from his home in New York.

The Maryland native, who has a masters from Yale School of Drama, is one of comedy’s elite, not only a brilliant stand-up comedian, but an insightful social commentator – since 2013, he’s been American Civil Liberties Union’s ambassador for voting rights. Here’s what he told the Weekly ahead of his show Feb. 5 at Golden State.

You’re headlining “Let Freedom Laugh” on Feb. 28, which celebrates the Bill of Rights. Who could benefit from a Bill of Rights refresher course?

The Tea Party. It doesn’t hurt for people to be reminded of who they are. It doesn’t mean freedom from government. You have to have government to deal with our shit. Somebody has to deal with the roads. I don’t want to live in a country where nobody’s paying attention to what’s happening with drugs, whether they’re being made properly. Now [the government] cut the IRS, so the IRS doesn’t have anybody to answer questions. It’s saving money for what? To get another flat screen? It’s the weirdest of times.

But the weirder stuff gets, the more material you have.

I can be funny without talking about this crap. I can go 10 minutes on why this winter is shitty.

After you turned 60, you said you’re too old for hope. You still feel that way?

Oh yeah. I have hope for future generations, but I don’t have hope as far as what I’m going to see. Unless they figure out how to transplant those pig livers in humans. That’d be a start. I’m always optimistic or else I couldn’t keep going up on stage and doing what I’m doing.

What were your first thoughts on the Hebdo assassinations?

I first thought it was weird because I hadn’t heard of it. It made me wonder, what level of hip am I? Then I thought that it was completely idiotic. It had nothing to do with winning the jihad at all. There are a lot of things you can go after if you want to stop the West, but you don’t stop the West by going after free speech. It’s the first time I realized this isn’t religion, this is insanity. This isn’t a religious group, this is a group of people who are just crazy. When you’re that far into God that you lose that much sight of reality, you’re nuts. God knows you’re an idiot. If you don’t think [God] has a sense of humor, why did he create us?

Thoughts on the Bill Cosby scandal?

I never paid attention to him in the news because I never paid attention to him as a comedian. He always said, about [comedians] like me, that you shouldn’t use profanity, so I’m like, “Fuck you, I’m not going to be watching your act either.”

How do you think Obama’s done?

I think he got kids attracted to the fact that he could make a difference. Then the kids found out, much like the way I did in the ’60s, that a lot of times you can’t make a difference. It’s not that you can’t, it just takes time. Time is what [Obama] took out of the equation: “We’re going to do it!” He wasn’t ready to be president. Not even close. He gives a good speech and he’s a great community organizer, but he didn’t do the job he had to do.

Your parents are in the audience of some of your HBO specials. What are their thoughts?

My mother comments more than my dad. She’ll say, “That was really good” or “You said the f-word too much” or “Why are you yelling so much?” But I think they’re thrilled. I don’t think they ever expected me to make a living, let alone appear in front of lots of people.

LEWIS BLACK 8pm Thursday, Feb. 5. Golden State Theatre, 417 Alvarado St., Monterey. $42-$86. 649-1070.