In
a screenwriting class, I was asked about my politics. I said, “I’m with Woody Allen whose character
says (in Sleeper), ‘I don’t believe
in political solutions.’” One writer threw
her hands in the air: “How crazy is that!“ Well, it’s time I came out of the
closet and explained.
Imagine
a drowning man 50 feet off shore.
A
Republican will stride along the shore and say, “He got himself into this
situation; let him get himself out and learn to swim. It will be good for his character.”
A
Democrat will tax you and me, buy 100 feet of rope, throw it to the man, and
let go of his or her end.
Either
way, the man drowns.
In
my crazy and perhaps flawed philosophy, I like the idea of a person (or group
of individuals) who spots the drowning man and swims out and saves him…and then
teaches him how to swim. As important as
“political solutions” may be, I guess I believe in individual change more than
political change. That way, the drowning man keeps living.
Image
from reclaimingthemind.org
