I am spending time with my daughter and son-in-law in New York City, the most cosmopolitan city on earth. There is enough liberalism here to share with the whole world, but race is looked upon in a totally different way than in the south, where I live.

In the north you will find people from every country and culture in the world: Pakistan, Korea, China, North Vietnam, South Korea, and India. There are Africans, Muslims, Italians (they rule here), Germans, and many more. I don’t believe I have ever met a French citizen in New York.

There is more acceptability of race here. Everyone has a job and you find a sense of utmost respect for the rights of others.

This is a godly characteristic which would benefit the south to cultivate. Our God made all people and all races, and He loves them all. If you cannot accept others, you cannot accept God. I John 4:20 tells us, “If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.”

To be balanced, I also see much that the south has which New Yorkers will never experience:

1 - The privilege of singing old hymns of faith that will raise the roof of a small country church. There is nothing on earth like the sense of joy in this act of worship.

2 - A good Saturday of football with friends. Southern football is king! Georgia, Tennessee, Florida are teams that are in the top 10 year after year. You will never see good football until you come south!

3 – In 45 years of living in Georgia and Florida, I have never tasted southern food without praising God for it. In the north you just can’t find the same greens, cauliflower, corn, black eyed peas and much more, not to mention bar-b-que and ribs! You can eat in the south for $25 for two. In New York your meal will be $105.95. You will pay for what you get!

4 - The “Bible Belt” is really a piece of heaven. You might have ideas that contradict this, but God is doing powerful things in the “Bible Belt.” Thousands are being born again and filled with the Holy Spirit. The revival in Tennessee and Georgia, which I have been experiencing personally in my travels, is the real thing. Churches in the New York area are struggling and the ones that are alive are not many. God is alive in the south!

5 - Personally, I would say that snow is for the birds. To spend October through March in the snow, you have to adjust your whole life style. New clothing, new shoes, new hats, new tires, new this and that just to keep going. No, the south has warm sunshine 75% of the year and that is for me.

6 - Since I travel to Brazil seven times a year, my airline is Delta. I don’t know names such as TRUMP Airlines, VIRGEN Airlines and other names you have never seen in your life!! We southerners are accustomed to know what we are flying. I’ll tell you one thing I will never be in an airplane named Virgen.

7 - I have tasted great drinks in the north: Glacier Mineral water, S. Pellegrino water, and much more. The variety of soft drinks in the north is astronomical. There is a soft drink for every taste. In the south we have only two: Coca-Cola and iced tea. Well, that keeps things simple!

Yes, we southerners are very different from our counterparts in the north. I love the south. However, the northerners have something which we need: more acceptance of race and ethnicity. We need more understanding of human emotions and differences. We need to affirm that all have been made in the image of the God we love, and all reflect different aspects of His infinite, Technicolor character!

Rick Bonfim