Mamet has done a Berkowitz

Village Voice ^

[Eleutheria5]

.....I wrote a play about politics (November, Barrymore Theater, Broadway, some seats still available). And as part of the "writing process," as I believe it's called, I started thinking about politics. This comment is not actually as jejune as it might seem. Porgy and Bess is a buncha good songs but has nothing to do with race relations, which is the flag of convenience under which it sailed.

But my play, it turned out, was actually about politics, which is to say, about the polemic between persons of two opposing views. The argument in my play is between a president who is self-interested, corrupt, suborned, and realistic, and his leftish, lesbian, utopian-socialist speechwriter.

The play, while being a laugh a minute, is, when it's at home, a disputation between reason and faith, or perhaps between the conservative (or tragic) view and the liberal (or perfectionist) view. The conservative president in the piece holds that people are each out to make a living, and the best way for government to facilitate that is to stay out of the way, as the inevitable abuses and failures of this system (free-market economics) are less than those of government intervention.

I took the liberal view for many decades, but I believe I have changed my mind.....

[Iron Munro]

You really should have the original title restored. It is much more descriptive of the content of this interesting article.

Agree.

Home-made titles also screw up the search function when searching by title to avoid duplicate posting.

[SJSAMPLE]

The Son of Sam?

What’s he got to do with it?

[joebuck]

Given the tenor of this article, I would strongly suggest that Mr. Mamet go read the book of Romans. His heart is leading him in the right direction and is talking to him. I will pray he listens, ever closer. Even if he’s read Romans before, given his new insights, I think he may now find some meaning he never imagined was there.

[monkapotamus]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1984213/posts

[nikos1121]

I read through the whole article. When I came up to his comments about Sowell and the others, I realized that Mamet is on the level.

I agree he should prepare himself for some criticism but he has always been very frank with his opinions and I think he will be with this.

Playwriting is truth, otherwise you will be ferreted out as an imposter... I’m not talking about the countless rubbiish that fills the small theaters of this country with sordid tales of guy lesbian stories...and scatological imprints of human behavior.

In my mind the great writers write about truth and the less you know of their politics the better.

I would love to see David rise up to be a contributing “philosopher” of the conservative message.

[william clark]

Hardly on par with Horowitz’s conversion; at least not yet. Mamet seems to have only arrived at the everybody-does-it stage of disillusionment with the left. He apparently still buys into a lot of the lies told by the left about Bush and his administration.

[nikos1121]

Big difference.

“Accuracy, accuracy, accuracy” —Joseph Pulitzer

[lowbridge]

He can just forget about winning anymore awards for the near future.

[Jim Scott]

David Mamet has done something rare: he actually questioned what he believed (politically) and why. That he changed his POV about his former liberal beliefs is not surprising to most of us who have long since realized the vacuity of liberal ideology. That David Mamet declares his change of opinion and analyzes the reasons for it in a public forum is remarkable. Too bad it took him so long (Mamet is 60).

Although Mamet's artistic reputation is secure and its probably safe to assume he's quite wealthy, to jettison core liberal PC political beliefs with clarity of thought in a very public way is more than unusual and bold, it's downright brave. He certainly will be vilified by the left. I'm sure Mamet realizes that - and doesn't care. Good for him. Maybe we'll see him on Foxnews someday debating public policy with some liberal hack like Alan Colmes.

While most of us can quibble with some of Mamet's statements, especially his comparisons between Presidents Kennedy and Bush, which assume every leftwing canard ever thrown at President Bush is factual. Mamet's conclusion - that human needs, the will to survive and prosper that the free-market serves, easily prevail over liberal Utopian fantasies manifested as public policy that either fail utterly (The War on Poverty) or make matters worse (Affirmative Action) - is basically sound.

To this, I say: 'Welcome home, Mr. Mamet. What took you so long?'

[Eleutheria5]

“He can just forget about winning anymore awards for the near future.”

Yeah, but maybe he’ll start freeping.

[the invisib1e hand]

He'll sell a bunch more seats, instead of being coerced to give 'em away as though he were a "non-profit."

All his former suckups are gonna be in a tizzy.

[Eleutheria5]

“All his former suckups are gonna be in a tizzy.”

Maybe he’ll shake their world-view. Or maybe they’ll be so attached to his @#$ from decades of sucking up that they’ll move right, too, and it’ll become fashionable.