They say you can't study Kabbalah until you are at least 40 years old. You know why? You have to have experienced at least one generation making the same mistakes as the previous one.
David MametRead
I look back upon my Liberal political beliefs with a sort of wonder - as another exercise in self-involvement - rewarding myself for some superiority I could not logically describe.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects on the nature of personal beliefs and the contradictions inherent in them.
David Mamet's quote critiques the tendency to engage in self-congratulatory beliefs, particularly in the realm of political ideology. He suggests that his past adherence to Liberal political views was less about genuine conviction and more about fulfilling a need for self-importance, highlighting the dissonance between belief and reason.
Themes
PoliticsBeliefsSelf-ImportanceHypocrisyConviction
In practice
Example use cases
During a debate or discussion about personal beliefs, this quote can illustrate the complexity of true conviction.
More from David Mamet
All quotes βMy alma mater is the Chicago Public Library. I got what little educational foundation I got in the third-floor reading room, under the tutelage of a Coca-Cola sign.
David MametRead
You know, young actors say all the time, 'Should I use my own life experience?' And my response is, 'What choice do you have?'
David MametRead
It's hard for a Jew of my generation, an American Jew, who is philo-Zionistic, not to romanticize Israel.
David MametRead
You can't write about history without writing about politics at some point. History is about movements of people. 'What is criminality and what is government' is a theme that runs through every history.
David MametRead
Every reiteration of the idea that nothing matters debases the human spirit.
David MametRead
Similar quotes
Even the holy men who lived before the coming of Christ understood that God had in mind plans of peace for the human race.
Saint BernardRead
Because one does not want to be disturbed, to be made uncertain, he establishes a pattern of conduct, of thought, a pattern of relationships to man. He then becomes a slave to the pattern and takes the pattern to be the real thing.
Bruce LeeRead
The love of one's country is a splendid thing. But why should love stop at the border?
Pablo CasalsRead
Our whole business in this Life is to restore to health the eye of the heart whereby God may be seen.
Saint AugustineRead
And now here is my secret, a very simple secret; it is only with the heart that one can see rightly, what is essential is invisible to the eye.
Antoine De Saint-ExuperyRead
The supreme end is the freedom of the spirit.
Sri AurobindoRead