I love my country. My country being "America." I actually hate when people call it "America" because that could mean anywhere in North or South America if you want to get technical. Why should the United States of America absorb all of the Americas by being called "America?"
Anyway, I love the United States of America. I might disagree with some things about my country. I might even criticize some ways it is run or some people in government office or our entertainment and media empire, etc. BUT, I cannot stand when other people criticize my country who are not from my country. When someone criticizes "America" suddenly this overwhelming sense of pride and patriotism for my country wells up inside of me and it just about comes out as I hold myself back from punching this person in the neck for dissing my nation. I have never, ever experienced this happening in India until yesterday...
I was minding my own business; I was even wearing a culturally sensitive, traditional Indian outfit that most Indian women wear called a Salwaar Kameez (google it, you'll see). I was walking to a shop that I frequently go to at least twice a week. I know the shop owner, he knows what I want as he sees me approaching. SO, I was walking into this shop and a man was standing outside the shop swaying a little as he stood there and therefore was noticeably drunk. As I walked into the shop he yells out to me, "FUCK AMERICA!" I was actually quite surprised by the outburst because USUALLY Indian men yell at me, but it's more like, "Hello!!" "How are you??" "From which country are you???" "Welcome to India!" Things of that sort. This guy obviously did not like the United States of America. I simply ignored him, but the entire time I was in the shop he was shouting things like that at me. "I hate America!" "Nine Eleven something something..." "mumble mumble, America, Mumble."
I was upset because first of all, he actually has no idea that I am an American citizen. I could be British, Irish, Australian, Norwegian, Italian, Canadian even! I could be from any of those places. Heck, I could be from South Africa! Of all the places white people hail from, America does not have the majority. In that case I would not have cared at all that he was shouting these things and would have simply laughed at him for the misidentification of my home country. But the thing is I AM AMERICAN and it took every fiber in my being to not run up to him and punch him in his drunk face. I could have taken him. I bet he has never even been to "America" and I bet that he has some dumb reason for hating "America." All I wanted to do was go up to him and say, "Excuse me? I am living in YOUR country, and I am wearing YOUR traditional clothes, I am just buying milk, yogurt, and cereal, I am doing nothing to upset YOU. I did not come to YOUR country to say horrible things about how different it is, or that I'm so glad Mumbai was attacked in 2008 and I am glad it happened again just last week." Oh man, I was so upset. Only one other time in my life was I that upset about something someone said, only that time it was about Jesus, and this time it was about "America."
Usually Indians love America and love the people from America. I have never met an Indian-to-date that hated the United States. Just going to the US Embassy last week and seeing the line for US visa applicants winding around the building shows how much Indians love the US. Just going to the United States you will see Indian people EVERYWHERE!
I don't know where this guy came from or why he was saying those things, and as I walked away from his mumblings and laughing because I did not ever respond to him, I prayed for him. As difficult as it was, I prayed for him. I guess you could say I even loved him by not spazzing out on him and by not knocking him out as I left the store. I have found that it is so very easy to pray for my enemies and to say that I love my enemies when I never have to face them. Like right after the World Trade Center incident I prayed for those terrorists, I even felt compassion for them, but I never had to ever meet them. I never had to see or hear their personal hatred for my country. When it comes to actually meeting people face-to-face who are my enemy or my Jesus' enemy or my country's enemy, it is really hard to have compassion for them. It is really hard to pray for them. There is so much hate in our world, and I am so thankful that I don't have to see it very often right in my face, because I think I would live a very different life full of anger and hate, the very things I would be angry and hateful towards.
I don't know how God does it.
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