On parenting

David Mamet, the playwright and screenwriter, has come out of the closet recently as a political conservative. I was reading an interview with him about it, but the point that stood out to me was something that didn't have anything to do with politics. He was asked by the interviewer if he intends to promote conservativism through his writing.

No, it’s not my job as a playwright to send a message. It’s my job as a playwright to entertain the people. And it would be an abuse of their trust to addend a message to an entertainment. It’s like…
It’s like ending a wonderful fairy story that you tell your children, and saying and so, remember it’s always good to be kind to people and blah, blah, blah. No, you’ve just destroyed your kid, right? He thought that he was…he suspended his disbelief in order to have this wonderful moment with his father, where they both engage in this fantasy. And at the end, you’re saying but more important than that, son, let me misuse the gift of your attention to teach you a lesson.

I don't know what other people think of this, but my response was something along the lines of, "Oh my gosh, I'm not the only one who thinks that way!" Having said that, my pathetic attempts at fiction are absolutely message-driven. I only agree with Mamet about the parenting part.