Internet access on campus has been spotty this morning, so the first post of the day will be very brief indeed.

I'm a life-long Californian and a seventeen-year resident of Los Angeles County, and I've never before experienced heat and humidity like we had this weekend. Yesterday, I went for my "long run" of the week at 6:00AM; at what is perhaps the coolest moment of the day, it was 79 degrees as I stepped out of my car to begin a jog up Brown Mountain. Truly, deeply, profoundly unpleasant. I note that my home town, Carmel, is one of the few spots in the nation that hasn't hit 80 degrees once this summer. I was very lucky as a child...

I made it home from my run in time to see the awards presentations following the Tour de France. I am very pleased to see Floyd Landis win, not least because of his Mennonite background. As I turned on the TV yesterday morning, I predicted that what Floyd Landis did during the national anthem (always played for the country of the Tour winner) would indicate the degree to which he still embraces his Mennonite heritage.

Mennonites, particularly traditional ones, don't salute the flag or sing the national anthem. Though much of the press coverage of Landis' traditional upbringing has been interesting and accurate, I'm sorry that no one seems to mention that the Mennonites aren't just conservative Christians. In their commitment to voluntary simplicity, an abhorrence of all forms of violence (even in self-defense), and a disdain for displays of patriotism, Mennonites -- like all Anabaptists -- are radically different from what we tend to regard as the stereotypical American conservative Christian! Many Mennonite schools don't fly the US flag anywhere on campus -- something that could hardly be said of most Reformed or Baptist private schools!

I was pleased to see that Floyd Landis stood respectfully, hands clasped in front of him during the American national anthem. His posture was identical to that of the 2nd and 3rd place finishers, a Spaniard and a German. Click to enlarge. Note that the American ambassador has his hand over his heart.

Lance Armstrong always put his hand over his heart during the national anthem (you can find such images easily on the web) after winning the Tour.

I may no longer worship in the Mennonite church (neither does Floyd), but I was pleased by what I was able to interpret from his stance yesterday. Whatever he retains of his Anabaptist roots, he seems to remain committed to the principle that to be a Mennonite is to be a citizen of God's Kingdom, not of an individual country. His simple, respectful, humble refusal to engage in a patriotic ritual of pledging allegiance to but one corner of that Kingdom is admirable, and a sign perhaps that Landis is still, in some real sense, a true Mennonite.

Good on you, Floyd.