I was just browsing the comments on a
story about the new movie,
The Gambler, that Leonardo DiCaprio just agreed to make with Martin Scorsese. Although I was initially excited to hear that the pair would be working together for a fifth time, after reading about how they totally cut the original writer out of the process and did not even ask for permission to remake a script that he wrote as an autobiography. The article is very long, but in a nutshell, James Toback turned his life story into a movie script and sold it to Paramount Pictures. That means he no longer technically owns the script, but nevertheless, it is his life story and it would have been the right thing to do to at least give him the heads up that they planned to remake it. Not what I would expect from my favorite director and one of my favorite actors. It does, however, bring to mind a particularly funny scene from
Seinfeld, when Kramer sells his life story to Mr. Peterman so that he may use them in his autobiography. Enough of the background though. I was so intrigued, that after I finished the article, I decided to read the comments. It was there that I stumbled upon this quote from author Robert Heinleim's book,
Friday. I found it to be very interesting, as it put such an interesting idea into words so well. Got me thinking, so I figured I'd share since I have not updated this in a while. Maybe someone will find it as interesting as I did.
“I want to mention one of the obvious symptoms [of a sick culture]: Violence. Muggings. Sniping. Arson. Bombing. Terrorism of any sort. Riots of course–but I suspect that little incidents of violence, pecking away at people day after day, damage a culture even more than riots that flare up and then die down. I guess that’s all for now. Oh, conscription and slavery and arbitrary compulsion of all sorts and imprisonment without bail and without speedy trial–but those things are obvious; all the histories list them.”
“Friday, I think you have missed the most alarming symptom of all.”
“I have? Are you going to tell me? Or am I going to have to grope around in the dark for it?”
“Mmm. This once I shall tell you. But go back and search for it. Examine it. Sick cultures show a complex of symptoms such as you have named… but a dying culture invariable exhibits personal rudness. Bad manners. Lack of consideration for others in minor matters. A loss of politeness, of gentle manners, is more significant than is a riot.”
“Really?”
“Pfui. I should have forced you to dig it out yourself; then you would know it. This symptom is especially serious in that an individual displaying it never thinks of it as a sign of ill health but as proof of his/her strength. Look for it. Study it. It is too late to save this culture - this worldwide culture...”
