It's meant to be a bit of dark humor. Sometimes the folly of humanity (including much of what you bring up) can make us cynical, angry, or depressed. Being able to have a laugh at those troublesome aspects of human nature is one way some of us can find a bit of a respite.
I realize it's meant to be somewhat humorous, but I also think it's meant to be taken seriously; or at least, there are a lot of people with exactly the viewpoint espoused in that quote.
