I was at a 5k in Pasadena kicking off the New Year. Moments before the race started, the Star Spangled Banner sounded off. I immediately raised my hand to my heart as I’ve done since I was a young kid in school and later at sporting events and the military. I used to feel silly that the song made me feel proud. I looked around at the hundreds of people surrounding me and saw very few people paying their respects to this country. I think it’s a product of our current societal indoctrination that being proud of your country is racist or affiliated with the right wing. Whatever the reasoning, I don’t like it. We are out here with so much free time that we are paying money to run around other people. If that isn’t reason enough to love the country, I don’t know what is.