Posted on 05/14/2011 7:11:04 PM PDT by AustralianConservative
Three decades ago David Mamet became known among the culture-consuming public for writing… […]
And then Mamet thought some more, and looked in the mirror.
“I never questioned my tribal assumption that Capitalism was bad,” he writes now, “although I, simultaneously, never acted upon these feelings.” He was always happy to cash a royalty check and made sure to insist on a licensing fee. “I supported myself, as do all those not on the government dole, through the operation of the Free Market.”
He saw he was Talking Left and Living Right, a condition common among American liberals, particularly the wealthy among them, who can, for instance, want to impose diversity requirements on private companies while living in monochromatic neighborhoods, or vote against school vouchers while sending their kids to prep school, or shelter their income while advocating higher tax rates. The widening gap between liberal politics and liberal life became real to him when, paradoxically enough, he decided at last to write a political play, or rather a play about politics. It was the first time he thought about partisan politics for any sustained period.
“This was after the 2004 election,” he told me in an interview last month. “I’d never met a conservative. I didn’t know what a conservative was. I didn’t know much of anything.
“But I saw the liberals hated George Bush. It was vicious. And I thought about it, and I didn’t get it. He was no worse than the others, was he? And I’d ask my liberal friends, ‘Well, why do you hate him?’ They’d all say: ‘He lied about WMD.’ Okay. You love Kennedy.Kennedy didn’t write Profiles in Courage—he lied about that. ‘Bush is in bed with the Saudis!’ Okay, Kennedy was in bed with the mafia.”
(Excerpt) Read more at weeklystandard.com ...
This was an excellent and encouraging article. My head exploded when he mentioned Trotter’s observation that sheep vomit to ward off wolves. This is how group-think liberals communicate to one another what is considered inappropriate thinking or behavior; finger in mouth. It’s no more intellectual than what the sheep does.
Mamet tries to convert his Bush voting Republican Rabbi by sending him “What's the Matter with Kansas”, but his Rabbi counters with “A Conflict of Visions”, by Thomas Sowell, which starts to open Mamet’s eyes.
This article is a great telling of a transformation.
A big part of this (IMHO) comes from upbringing... I got a lot of support and encouragement from my mother. She would praise my accomplishments, and tell me where I was falling short. But she only praised me when I deserved it. I had to do something that was worthy of her praise, and she'd remind me that if I wasn't doing my best, I was only cheating myself. I didn't always listen to the later. But it made me proud of what I had accomplished, and made me wonder how far I could go.
Marxist philosophy of collectivism actually works quite well in may societies... Ant and bee colonies are two examples. But then you don't have any individuals, and those who aren't part of the collective are disposed of (for instance, the drones in a bee hive are driven out of the hive to live or die on their own after the queen has been fertilized, since they're no longer of any use, and would be a drain on the hive's resources.) Collectivism is the enemy of the individual, which is something that has always confused me about artists. I mean, don't most artists want to create something unique? You would think that they would appreciate individuality above almost everything else. But in society it seems that nearly every "artist" is a leftist.
Mark
Great article! Thanks for posting it. I re-posted this on Facebook for my theater and film friends to read. This might make their heads spin around! LOL!
Mamet’s conversion reminds me of Hitchens’ (though Hitch has backslid in recent years, I think). I have great sympathy for used-to-be-Libs who discover Conservatism, being one of those myself.
I’m glad you liked it as much as I did. I remember one of Mamet’s plays in London a few years ago. Great stuff. You’re lucky to have him.
Indeed.
Thanks for the tip.
Great play – I caught it in the West End (with Joshua Jackson).
Agreed. He is a genius.
Yes, it is all worth reading, for sure.
I couldn’t agree more Mark. I’m glad Mamet also knows that Marxism is good for ants but not humans now.
I like to be reminded that there are still great individuals out there too.
Thanks for the link – I’ll order the book too.
The writer is Andrew Ferguson. Good read indeed.
Right, Mamet to his credit is a critical thinker.
Welcome.
Agree. The sheep references stood out in my mind too.
That part was hilarious.
“If anyone hasn’t seen the 1992 film version of Mamet’s ‘Glengarry Glen Ross’ please do. It’s breathtaking.”
Yeah, I want my son to watch it. I’ll tell him that’s what life is like if you don’t get a good education.
Thanks for posting. Very interesting article. I have a liberal family member whose favorite playwright is Mamet. Gives me hope that maybe some day he might see the light too.
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