I don't participate in such things. I have a hard time expressing such sentiments regarding a nation that was established according to neo-pagan principles. Yet, I have a duty to love my country per the teaching of the catechism, Scripture and Tradition. The question becomes, how does one fulfill this duty in an apostate nation? I guess this issue has been brought to the fore because the SSPX school that my kids attend have instituted a line up every morning and begins the day with the national anthem and afterwards, a prayer to Our Lady. This really irks me. I fear they are making good Republicans. I fear that this attitude is as damaging to supernatural faith and our spiritual attitudes towards the supernatural Kingdom of God as is watching TV to some extent. Perhaps I am wrong, as Catholics have assented to these practices for many years. Or maybe we have fallen partly because we sing the praises of the New Babylon, of which we are practically captives. I understand that just as one in a state of grace can perform naturally good works on occasion, so too a nation which is also in a "state of sin." Also, just as we are to love our enemies, so too our own nation that happens to be at enmity with God. But it seems to me that loving them doesn't or shouldn't involve singing their praises.