Note: For those readers who don�t know, Wisconsin has recently passed legislation that all Wisconsin schools must offer either the Pledge of Allegiance or the national anthem every day, mainly because parents of children wanted to feel that they were Doing Something about national unity.

Imagine this:

**You are in a Brownie Circle with twenty first-grade girls. Two little Brownies stand in the center of the circle. One holds a Girl Scout flag, the other holds an American flag, and both are looking very smug about it. The leader comes into the circle, and tells them all that they will now be saying the Pledge of Allegiance. The leader reminds them of the importance of the Pledge. �It is not a time to be wiggling around,� she says. �This is a serious part of our meeting.� Obligingly, with complete gravity, eighteen girls clap their right hand to their chest�two were busy holding the flags�and recite the Pledge just the way they hear it every morning on the loudspeaker:

�I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under G-d, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Have a nice day.�**

Now imagine not laughing as you heard it and watched the leader try to puzzle out how the Pledge gained four new words. I doubt you can.

But the funniest thing of all is the realization that this isn�t one isolated funny incident. This is just one example of a trend that has been sweeping America for years: I Am A Parent Who Feels Unsafe And/Or Uncomfortable, Therefore, I Want To Do Something To/For My Kids Just To Feel That I�m Doing Something...Even If What I�m Doing Is Pointless And Without Reason. (Except the parents don�t consciously grasp that last part.)

You can�t make them see reason. You can�t convince them otherwise. You can�t point out that what they are doing IS pointless and without reason. Don�t confuse them with facts. They�re Doing Something to protect their kids (which really means they�re Doing Something to make themselves feel better).

The doors of my old middle school are locked during the school day, and a buzzer and camera are set up there. Why? The parents needed to Do Something to protect their kids from school shootings. The catch? Not only are most school shootings perpetrated by students of the school, but a back door of my middle school is always open. (The parents also then went on to Do Something about the elementary school, too.) My high school has random metal detections of students. Why? You guessed it. The parents wanted to Do Something about school safety. The catch? 99.9% of students go through the detectors but don�t have their backpacks searched. Thank parents that we�re protected from stupid school shooter wannabes who carry guns on their person!

I guess it is inherent in human nature that parents should protect their children. But it is also inherent in human nature to be intelligent thinkers. Somehow, it appears, parents must give up one of those two tendencies. Well, maybe it�s because I�m not a parent, but I think the whole idea is plain bull.

Someone should Do Something about it!

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