If you DID know...
There aren’t a lot of TV shows I care to watch. But I do watch The Unit on DVD from the library. Why this show? Because it is created and sometimes written by David Mamet, and I love the way he writes; there’s a cadence and implied meaning in his dialogue. Plus, it’s just good story.
Watching an episode that he wrote, there is a line that caught me. One of the characters is having an ethical dilemma and in trying to figure out the answer has got herself caught in overwhelming possibilities. So the other character she has asked for help says, “An old trick my boss taught me, If you did know the answer what would it be?”
And instead of waiting for her to come up with a response he says, “Write it down.” And there is her answer – it’s the gut one, unfiltered through all the arguments, the pros and cons. It was the answer she needed to come to on her own, in her own words, regardless of the outcome.
It’s a question I’m willing to hear when things don’t make sense and the logical choice isn’t always the right choice. What about you?
Watching an episode that he wrote, there is a line that caught me. One of the characters is having an ethical dilemma and in trying to figure out the answer has got herself caught in overwhelming possibilities. So the other character she has asked for help says, “An old trick my boss taught me, If you did know the answer what would it be?”
And instead of waiting for her to come up with a response he says, “Write it down.” And there is her answer – it’s the gut one, unfiltered through all the arguments, the pros and cons. It was the answer she needed to come to on her own, in her own words, regardless of the outcome.
It’s a question I’m willing to hear when things don’t make sense and the logical choice isn’t always the right choice. What about you?