My favorite American

If I was asked who was my favorite American about 12 years ago, I would really be hard pressed to come up with an answer. Not because I was enchanted by half the American population but because I felt Americans and America were selfish, arrogant and greedy. And hence I didn’t like the country so much. In spite of these largely incorrectly held pre-conceived notions, I had great admiration for two of America’s citizens. The first was tennis champion Pete Sampras. Armed with a cannon like serve and a statesman like brain, pistol Pete was undoubtedly one of the world’s greatest sportsmen. Holding my breath whenever his match was in the balance, I cheered for him like I have cheered for no tennis player before or after him, he was definitely one of my favorite Americans. But Sampras had an equal as my favorite American, and that equal was the stunningly beautiful lady from California, Cameroon Diaz. Her entry scene in the Mask, where she enters the bank in a red dress and stoops to pick up something, is etched in my memory. In fact it was my admiration for the actress that made me connect with one of my best friends, Atul. Too bad we haven’t been in touch lately.

In Feb 2008, I traveled to America and with that I slowly realized that my initial impression of America was exactly what I have said it was, an incorrectly assumed preconceived notion. But even then Sampras and Diaz remained my favorite Americans. However that changed last week when I watched the biography of one Mr. Abraham Lincoln. The man was simply phenomenal! The things that he thought of and did at the time that he did is simply amazing.

In fact a lot of his qualities and deeds made me realize that he was not very different from my favorite Indian, M.K. Gandhi. Both men were simple, honest, calm, compassionate, they never imposed their leadership on anyone people followed them and made them leaders, they both were lawyers and had largely forgetful family lives. One of the speakers said that had Abraham Lincoln completed his second term, America would not have required a Martin Luther King. So like Gandhi, Lincoln also wasn’t around to rebuild his nation!

Strangely this wasn’t my first encounter with Lincoln. I remember reading his white house ghost story from “World famous ghosts” and then there was a paragraph about him in my 9th standard history text book and even Nicky Cage claimed Lincoln was his favorite Prez in National Treasure; yet this great historical figure would have passed me by had I not seen that documentary!

I have been twice to the Lincoln monument and on both occasions wondered what all the fuss was about. But now I know, so if I do go for the 3rd time I will go like a pilgrim!