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.
Liberalism is a religion. Its tenets cannot be proved, its capacity for waste and destruction demonstrated. But it affords a feeling of spiritual rectitude at little or no cost.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that liberalism operates on faith rather than provable principles, offering a sense of moral superiority without significant sacrifice.
David Mamet's quote critiques liberalism, characterizing it as a belief system akin to a religion. He argues that its core beliefs cannot be empirically validated, and the consequences of its implementation are often negative. However, he notes that it provides adherents with a sense of moral correctness and personal righteousness at minimal expense, presenting a paradox in which individuals may blindly follow a movement that lacks substantive evidence.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a political debate to highlight the challenges of liberal ideologies.
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.
You know, young actors say all the time, 'Should I use my own life experience?' And my response is, 'What choice do you have?'
It's hard for a Jew of my generation, an American Jew, who is philo-Zionistic, not to romanticize Israel.
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.
Every reiteration of the idea that nothing matters debases the human spirit.
Similar quotes
There is nothing deep down inside us except what we have put there ourselves.
I've come to the conclusion that mythology is really a form of archaeological psychology. Mythology gives you a sense of what a people believes, what they fear.
Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it?
Even though the body appears to be material, it is not. In the deeper reality, your body is a field of energy, transformation and intelligence.
We have no higher life that is really apart from other people. It is by imagining them that our personality is built up; to be without the power of imagining them is to be a low-grade idiot.
...most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution.