Slate review of American Dreamz

I peruse Slate daily on my RSS reader, and this morning I clicked on their review of American Dreamz. My mind started to swirl with possible posts. Then I got to the last paragraph, and all of my ideas flushed out of my mind and one stood there, begging to be written. Here is that paragraph:

This will all play well in liberal enclaves like Madison, Wis., and I have already poured enough water on what's meant to be a lark, but there is a final, troubling assumption at the center of American Dreamz. I'm more than ready to laugh at a scene that shows bearded terrorists gathered in a tent, raptly watching Omer in the final round, yelling, "He nailed it!" after a rendition of "My Way." But the scene also implies that we can charm our enemies with our glorious entertainment: Why attack the country that has given you Julia Roberts? That's a more dangerous American dream.

Isn't that the source of all of Hollywood's smugness, though-the belief that they (we) can entertain and charm themselves out of anything? The fact is, as part of their anti-American propoganda, Islamists have regularly used the decadence of American culture, as portrayed by Hollywood, as one of the reasons they hate America so. If you want to understand why many of us see Hollywood as out of touch with reality, that paragraph should go a long way in explaining why. There are times when nothing you can say or do can talk your enemies out of anything because they are fanatical about what they believe. This first decade of the 21st century is one of those times. Too many people think that the right smile and the right words (and maybe the right dollar amount) will lead our enemies to lay down their guns, their IEDs, their box cutters, and their explosive belts. There is no charm, no entertainment, no words that are going to change things, though. Sometimes you just need to stand up for yourself.