Abortion Quote by David Mamet
“It is to a dramatist, which is to say, to an unfrocked psychoanalyst, stunning that that which has sustained the Left in my generation, its avatar, its prime issue, has been abortion. For, whether or not it is regarded as a woman's right, an unfortunate necessity, or murder, which is to say, irrespective of differing and legitimate political views, to enshrine it as the most important test of the Liberal, is, mythologically, an assertion to the ultimate right of a postreligious Paganism.”
About This Quote
Source Play: Race, 2009
Abortion is portrayed as the central, mythic test of liberal identity, regardless of moral framing.
In simple terms: Abortion defines liberal values.
Key Takeaway
Question the moral foundations of political identity.
Themes
politics
ethics
identity
Mood
critical
analytical
Type
political
philosophical
When to use this quote
- public policy debates
- activist strategies
- media framing
Key Concepts
philosophy
cultural myth
feminism
Questions to Reflect On
- Why does abortion dominate liberal discourse?
- How do other issues compare in shaping identity?
A Different Perspective
Focusing on a single issue may oversimplify complex liberal ideologies.
