I read (most of) Mamet's piece. He seemed to be wrestling with two conflicting feelings.

On the one hand he feels like being concerned about the world's problems (and there ARE problems...genocide's happening, species are going extinct, the U.S. prison system is broken, etc.) requires you to be perpetually angry and guilty.

On the other hand he feels like his own life is going pretty swimmingly and has an overriding sense that people "get by" from day to day.

Which is it? A life of penitence or enjoyment? Doom-and-gloom or optimism?

My take: you don't have to carry the weight of the world's problems OR retreat into blithe solipsism. You recognize the problems, and do your part to help and leave the world a better place than you found it, and IN SO DOING come to enjoy life more and feel comfortable about your place in the world.

L8