David Mamet's April Fool Joke

Surely the Village Voice made a mistake when they published David Mamet: Why I Am No Longer a 'Brain-Dead Liberal' on March 11, 2008. I’m sure they must have meant to publish it today, on April Fools Day. How else can you explain such idiotic claptrap from a Pulitzer Prize winning writer?

First, the title is stupid. If Mamet was once a brain-dead liberal then it follows that he is still brain-dead now, no matter what his political leaning of the moment is. I doubt that he had a brain transplant. Of course being brain dead would help explain such insipid writing as this:

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.

Let’s start with the Bill of Rights shall we? From Wikipedia:

They were introduced by James Madison to the First United States Congress in 1791 as a series of constitutional amendments, and came into effect on December 15, 1791, when they had been ratified by three-fourths of the States. The Bill of Rights limits the powers of the Federal government of the United States, protecting the rights of all citizens, residents and visitors on United States territory.

How much sorrow has the Bill of Rights caused? How much sorrow has The Emancipation Proclamation caused? Public libraries? Government really sucks, doesn't it? Well yea, it does when it makes slavery legal, denies women the right to vote, and sends young people off to die in senseless wars. Some instances are good, some instances are bad. How can Mamet be so blind that he doesn't see any of the good?

The Vanity Press details more intervention of the government that will make you weep:

Yeah, rural electrification totally sucked. The G.I. Bill? Crapola. Medicare? Ahh, who says old people need medical insurance? Public highways? Food safety? They make me cry. Sorrow, sorrow, sorrow. Of course, none of these were an attempt at perfecting the world: they were and remain specific solutions to specific problems. But never mind, Mamet is apparently eager to toss them on the scrap heap, if he even remembers they exist. After all, why does a wealthy playwright and film director need any of these things anyway? They've got nothing to do with his life.

After seven years of the disaster called Bush, Mr. Mamet decides he wants to stop being a liberal and move further to the right. Ha, ha, ha. Good joke Mr. Mamet.

I’m sure the Village Voice must have meant to publish David Mamet: Why I Am No Longer a 'Brain-Dead Liberal' on April Fools Day as a joke. How else can you explain it?