David Mamet, “Classical Liberal.” - UPDATED

David Mamet, in a very well-done piece in the Village Voice declares himself “no longer a ‘brain-dead liberal’” and he sounds like he is a free man, and he sounds relieved, too.

Do I speak as a member of the “privileged class”? If you will—but classes in the United States are mobile, not static, which is the Marxist view. That is: Immigrants came and continue to come here penniless and can (and do) become rich; the nerd makes a trillion dollars; the single mother, penniless and ignorant of English, sends her two sons to college (my grandmother). On the other hand, the rich and the children of the rich can go belly-up; the hegemony of the railroads is appropriated by the airlines, that of the networks by the Internet; and the individual may and probably will change status more than once within his lifetime.

What about the role of government? Well, in the abstract, coming from my time and background, I thought it was a rather good thing, but tallying up the ledger in those things which affect me and in those things I observe, I am hard-pressed to see an instance where the intervention of the government led to much beyond sorrow.
[...]
Strand unacquainted bus travelers in the middle of the night, and what do you get? A lot of bad drama, and a shake-and-bake Mayflower Compact. Each, instantly, adds what he or she can to the solution. Why? Each wants, and in fact needs, to contribute—to throw into the pot what gifts each has in order to achieve the overall goal, as well as status in the new-formed community. And so they work it out.

You’ll want to read it all (and the comments section). Mamet even calls Thomas Sowell “our greatest contemporary philosopher.” Yes, really.

Welcome, Mr. Mamet! Some of us know precisely how it feels to suddenly realize that the jerking knees are not in sync with your life’s realities, and to take a wide step rightward.

Be careful not to step too widely; as with the stock-market and most industries, corrections easily become over-corrections (I’ve been there, done that) until one realizes that extremes no longer fit comfortably anymore because, as your rabbi pointed out, hearing out “the other guy” actually matters.

Enjoy all the havoc you’ve just created, sir, in your little world! You may find that you’ve just given others around you permission to free themselves, too. Maybe the word “liberal” can even be reclaimed, someday, to once again mean “broad minded, open and fair,” which is a far cry from what it means, these days.

Neoneocon, who made a similar voyage as Mamet has more.

UPDATE: Mamet got out just in time.

Welcome: Hot Air readers! While you’re here, enjoy a bit of Frank Sinatra giving us American classics, ponder the power of the press, prostitutes and the pews, appreciate Cowboy Bebop with Buster, or just marvel at the way ImproveEverywhere manages to turn a mall foodcourt into a musical.

Vocal Minority tracked back with David Mamet: *Former* Liberal...
Berkeley “liberals” « Journey to Ithaki pinged back with Berkeley “liberals” « Journey to Ithaki
Mamet got out just in time! | The Anchoress pinged back with Mamet got out just in time! | The Anchoress
A NEWT ONE tracked back with Once In A While, God Makes Good Liberals...
David Mamet turns a page [Karl] pinged back with David Mamet turns a page [Karl]
Bookworm Room pinged back with When a huge liberal tree falls out of the forest, will anyone listen?
The clear vision of the converted…. at Amused Cynic pinged back with The clear vision of the converted…. at Amused Cynic
Another Prodigal Returns to Conservativism : The Sundries Shack pinged back with Another Prodigal Returns to Conservativism : The Sundries Shack
small dead animals tracked back with Out Of The Fog...
Hot Air pinged back with Mamet: No longer a “brain-dead liberal”

by TheAnchoress @ 4:39 am. Filed under America, Culture of Life/Death, Election 2008, Free Speech?, Socialism doesn't work, TV/Pop Culture/Music, US Military

[Trackback URL] [link] [

Print This Post ] []

Trackback URL for this post:
http://theanchoressonline.com/2008/03/12/david-mamet-classical-liberal/trackback/

13 Responses to “David Mamet, “Classical Liberal.” - UPDATED”

Hot Air » Blog Archive » Mamet: No longer a “brain-dead liberal” Says:
March 12th, 2008 at 6:47 am
[...] him for his new perspective, and will he find it as easy to stage plays that reflect it? (via The Anchoress, who has more [...]
stoutcat Says:
March 12th, 2008 at 8:23 am
Sweet Lord, what a gasbag Mr. Mamet is! WFB he ain’t, yet he still makes some good points. Welcome to the world of thinking for yourself, and not having to toe the line. And remember: less is more.
Sigmund Carl and Alfred Says:
March 12th, 2008 at 8:45 am
Mamet’s biggest sin won’t be his ‘defection’ to the dark side, as one commenter wrote.

He will be reviled for making a cogent and thoughtful case- and for committing the leftist cardinal sin of questioning their failures.

What I found disturbing were some of remarks left in the comments section of the piece. Rather than take Mamet to task for his ideas, he was attacked for defending the tenets of his religion and for defending this nations support of Israel. The vast majority of leftists would have you those things always negate the merits of an argument of a more conservative view and that support of an anti (mainstream) Jewish and anti Israel agenda actually make their stance more legitimate.
small dead animals Says:
March 12th, 2008 at 9:31 am
Out Of The Fog…

A “brain dead Liberal” changes his opinion. And, I wondered, how could I have spent decades thinking that I thought everything was always wrong at the same time that I thought I thought that people were basically good at heart?……
Another Prodigal Returns to Conservativism : The Sundries Shack Says:
March 12th, 2008 at 9:37 am
[...] thinker to the fold. We can never have enough of them. I’ll just stand here behind the Anchoress as she welcomes Mamet into our merry gang of realists. Welcome, Mr. Mamet! Some of us know [...]
Jayhawk Says:
March 12th, 2008 at 9:40 am
Governmental intervention has never brought me anything other than sorrow. I once had high hopes. I was so much older then, I’m younger than that now.
The clear vision of the converted…. at Amused Cynic Says:
March 12th, 2008 at 10:28 am
[...] by the rank-and-file back in the Temple of Liberalism. RELATED: Not at all surprising to see the Anchoress already on top of this, this morning. Going to have to go check out the HuffPost comments, they [...]
Bookworm Room » When a huge liberal tree falls out of the forest, will anyone listen? Says:
March 12th, 2008 at 11:41 am
[...] tip: The Anchoress Share With Others: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and [...]
David Mamet turns a page [Karl] Says:
March 12th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
[...] “Why I Am No Longer a ‘Brain-Dead Liberal’” to the Village Voice. The Anchoress now dubs Mamet a “classical [...]
A NEWT ONE Says:
March 12th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
Once In A While, God Makes Good Liberals…

Zell Miller was such a Good Liberal, was he not? Do you recall what the Leftinistra and the Lame Stream Media said about him? I do. Just as a memory jogger, here is an audio clip to cause one to pause….
Mamet got out just in time! | The Anchoress Says:
March 12th, 2008 at 5:36 pm
[...] David Mamet, “Classical Liberal.” [...]
Berkeley “liberals” « Journey to Ithaki Says:
March 12th, 2008 at 10:59 pm
[...] March 12, 2008 by Anna I love how there is a guy in the video who says “Berkeley is a bastion of liberal thought”. Sadly, his definition of liberal is worlds apart from the definition of yore. [...]
Vocal Minority Says:
March 22nd, 2008 at 9:31 pm
David Mamet: *Former* Liberal…

Ultra-liberal playwright David Mamet published an article last week in the Village Voice titled, Why I Am No Longer a ‘Brain-Dead Liberal’. The meat of the lengthy piece is here:As a child of the ’60s, I accepted as an article of faith that governme…

The Anchoress

March 12, 2008

David Mamet, “Classical Liberal.” - UPDATED

13 Responses to “David Mamet, “Classical Liberal.” - UPDATED”

Site Syndication

Blogroll

Meta Data