Just a quick thought I wanted to throw out tonight. 

One often hears from the liberal Hollywood crowd that we should try to understand why the terrorists and their cultures hold us in such contempt.  We ought to examine our consciences, our actions, our histories in order to see the ways in which we have developed and perpetuated their subjugation, ways in which globalism has robbed their resources, ways in which our presence in Muslim lands is seen as offensive, etc.  Then, presumably, we'll engage in an act of national repentance and learn to be more tolerant and understanding, and everything will be just swell. 

Of course, by emphasizing our lack of tolerance and sensitivity for other cultures, they make it appear as though it is the conservatives, the traditionalists, the unwashed uncultured masses who are to blame for our low standing in the hearts and minds of some nations around the world.

Now I don't mean to deny that the history of our policies in the Middle East leaves much to be desired.  And in our efforts to contain communism we were forced to make some hard choices between containing the spread of a catastrophic ideology and propping up tyrannical regimes that were willing to help us.  All of these things, and more things beside, have contributed to our perception overseas. 

But you know what?  A child growing up in Saudi Arabia knows very little about what the old-fashioned midwesterner or Bible-belter is like.  But he knows a LOT about what folks in Hollywood are like.  A child growing up in Riyadh may not even know much about our dealings with the Shah of Iran, but he knows a LOT about American television and movies. 

I really wonder about the sincerity of this professed concern for international opinion, for one simple reason.  If these Hollywood liberals took the time to read the ravings of Osama bin Laden and his deputies, they would find a lot more said about the materialism and rampant promiscuity of the United States, about the sheer immoral decadence of the United States--and can anyone deny that these are precisely the things for which Hollywood is known worldwide?  

What, after all, is the great purveyor of American culture to the world?  Movies!  And what do Muslims around the world see when they watch American movies and television shows?  They see all the things that the Muslim faith has taught them to abhor: rampant sexual recklessness, selfishness and self-indulgence, godlessness and greed.  

So I have a message for Hollywood: If you're concerned about why they hate us, then start making movies that represent the true ideals of America, movies and television that show people with moral fiber who are striving to live ethical and godly lives--and then try behaving yourselves in a way that shows some common moral decency.  Then I'll believe that you care. 

Because if all I knew about America was what I saw in movies and television, well, to be honest, I wouldn't have much respect for it, either.