Reflections on Writing and War

I believe the strengths I had as a director

grew ultimately from the writing,

from being alone with myself

in finding the solitude that cuts through the materialism

around us.

It's an honor to have been a screenwriter

and to have had some time in the sun.

I should get off now, but it'd be remiss of me in reaching the

end of this sojourn

in Hollywood

not to remind you, especially you, you younger writers,

that you can be

critical of your government and your society.

You don't have to fit in. It's fashionable now to

take shots at Republicans and Trump and all that

and avoid the Obamas and Clintons.

But remember this.

In the thirteen wars we've started over the last thirty years,

and the fourteen trillion dollars we've spent,

and the hundreds of thousands of lives that have perished from this

earth,

remember that it wasn't one leader,

but a system, both Republican and Democrat.

And call it what you will, the

military-industrial-security-money-media

complex. It's a system

that has been perpetuated the better--

that has been perpetuated

under the guise that these are just wars

justifiable in the name

of our flag that flies so proudly over our lives.

Our country has become more prosperous for many.

But in the name of that wealth, we cannot justify our system

as a center for the world's values

when we continue to create such war and chaos in the world.

Thank you.

Uh, no need to go through the victims, but we know we've intervened in more than

a

hundred countries with invasions, regime change, economic

chaos, or hybrid war, soft power, whatever you wanna

call it. It's war of some kind.

In the end, it's become a system

leading to the death of this planet and the extinction of us all.

I fought these people who practice war most of my life.

It's a tiring game,

and mostly you'll get your ass kicked.

And with all the criticism and the insults that you'll receive,

and the flattery too,

it's important to remember, if you believe in what you're

saying and you can stay the course,

you can make a difference.

I urge you, I urge you to find a way to

remain alone with yourself. Listen to your silences,

not always in a writer's room. Try to find not what

the crowd wants

so that you can be successful,

but try instead to find the true inner meaning of your life

here on Earth.

And never give up on your heart and your struggle for

peace,

decency, and telling the truth.

Thank you.