Love & Hate

I had such a wild encounter yesterday...I'm not even sure how to explain it. Maybe it would be better expressed as a loud groan...

I was at church and was catching up with a friend. I met this friend's brother for the first time and learned he was heading back for a second tour in Afghanistan...

As I continued to catch up with my friend I mentioned how God seems to have me in a "Appreciation of world religions" class and I've been reading some really beautifully passionate books written by Zen masters, Sufis/mystical Islam...and the brother was super offended. He made a remark about how "they" don't know love...so I asked, "You've met all of them huh?" His response, "I've met my fair share and 'they've' been trying to kill me..." So I just said, "Well I'm sorry about that." And finished catching up with my friend~ and yes it was super awkward.

This dude was pissed. Hate was all over this guy.

And I've been rolling around in my mind...is there some rule now that says if you're having a conversation within earshot of an American soldier, the term "Islam" in any positive context is off sides? While I support his role as a soldier, do I owe it to him to jump on the hate wagon with him? Or am I supposed to not mention Islam--like it's a dirty word? Is it my patriotic obligation to be so sensitive that I refrain from saying nice things about a book I read?

Has it even crossed this guy's mind that he was in Afghanistan toting a gun? And maybe that could be contributing to the "they want to kill me" issue? But for argument's sake, let's assume that Yes every Muslim on the planet is plotting to destroy all Americans, and all Christians and all Jews...or whatever ~ last thing I heard, the second commandment still stands, regardless of what "their" goals are.

How did this dude make me look like a flaming liberal?

Oh jeese...or am I a flaming liberal???

Well I suppose I saw that nothing will cause you to be hated quicker than showing love toward another's enemies.

Now I have to figure out how to love offended American soldiers~ that might take a while.