You have seen a play or a film that David Mamet has written or directed for sure. “Glengary Glen Ross”, “The Postman Always Rings Twice”, or more recently “The Heist”. I came across this essay of his by way of another blog I read in The Weekly Standard www.theweeklystandard.com - it is pitch perfect as a piece of good sense in an election season full of rhetoric and bluster.
http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0811,374064,374064,1.html/full
I did not know till after doing a little more reading on Mamet that he has recently returned home to his Jewish faith and this also comes through in the essay. There is a tone to this essay that I found hard to put a word to - but I think it is something like “forgiveness”. There is a sense of real forgiveness for all of those constituencies that seem to vie for the attention and loyalty of our hearts. Government, the Military, Corporations, “the rich”, and many others all come in for there share of blame for the state of our world or our country. But aren’t they just like the most of us, just trying to get along? Sure, they make mistakes, but somehow don’t we find a way of making it work out for the best? It is a hopeful message for us to remember.