What we think we like, what we say we like, and what we really like

The latest Tom Friedman article might be worth a read, but this paragraph, where he quotes a guy from the Carnegie Endowment, was worth highlighting:

When you ask young Arabs which leaders in the region they most admire,” said Sadjadpour, they will usually answer the leaders of Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran. “When you ask them where in the Middle East would you most like to live,” he added, “the answer is usually socially open places like Dubai or Beirut. The Islamic Republic of Iran is never in the top 10.”

The first part of the statement I'm familiar with, and is often quoted. The juxtaposition with the second - and obvious - statement made me smile. I don't think we - young Arabs - are hypocrites, but those we are taught to admire - those leaders who stand up to the enemy, for instance - are not those we really would like to follow...