How silly of us -- the reason that the world is upset with the US has nothing to do with the Bush administration's imperialist impulses. According to a conservative professor at Boston University, it's simply an image problem.

After questioning teens in 12 different countries, Melvin DeFleur, a communications professor at Boston University, discovered that American entertainment was brewing a "culture of hate" among the youth of other countries. DeFleur surveyed 1,313 people ranging in from age 14 to 19. The study, "The Next Generation's Image of Americans: Attitudes and Beliefs by Teenagers in 12 Countries" was conducted in late 2002.

DeFleur, who thinks the war on terror needs to be fought on many fronts, said its time to change Hollywood's mind about the images it's producing. "If a teenager in Saudi Arabia sees an episode of The Sopranos, they are going to enjoy it, but the images of Americans being lewd and lawless will become imbedded in them," he said. "They are creating these dreadfully negative attitudes around the world among young people [ ... ] You don’t recruit terrorists out of a country that has favorable view of Americans [ ... ] They have to dislike us very intently and see us as worthless people that deserved to be harmed, and these media depictions are teaching them that."

Examples of wholesome entertainment that DeFleur said he'd like emulated in today’s society are Lassie, Flipper and Leave It to Beaver --- shows that never aired "couples writhing in bed" or "saying dirty words," he said.