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Pause and reflect By DEBORAH REED Sep 11, 2002 12:00 AM A A Mail Tribune editorial The words of the pledge remind us of what we must preserve and protect I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands: one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. This has been an extraordinary year, a year for grief, a year for resolve and, yes, a year for patriotism. As we came to grips with the horror of Sept. 11, 2001, we also came to understand that our way of life ' and indeed our very lives ' are threatened by an evil that reveres ideology above humanity. — — — — — Also on this page: ? . — — That understanding has driven us in the past year to hunt down and destroy those who would destroy us and driven us to embrace the freedom of this nation. It has also driven us to reflect on what that freedom really means. Perhaps we find that meaning in the simple and elegant words of The Pledge of Allegiance. It is a statement of patriotism and a statement of values, an oath too often given with too little thought about the words: I pledge allegiance ...: This is a country that has offered its citizens freedoms and opportunities. In return, we offer faithfulness and loyalty to its ideals and we recognize our duty to protect those ideals. ... to the flag of the United States of America ...: The flag is a powerful symbol. If you doubt that, consider the moment firefighters raised the tattered flag over the site of the shattered World Trade Center buildings in New York. In that moment, we said we were not beaten. ... and to the republic for which it stands ...: Yet the flag is only a symbol; the real measure of this country is in its values of freedom, its values of civil liberties and its values of democracy. The flag of any nation becomes an empty symbol if its people forget the values behind it. That nation, the republic, is greater than the people who temporarily guide it and those values must be upheld by those who are entrusted to take the helm. ... one nation under God ...: Court decisions may come and go, but the importance of faith to our society is a constant. That faith is not defined as a belief in any one religion's god, but in a God who provides a moral and spiritual compass to people of all faiths. If we lose sight of that, we are no better than the religious fanatics who oppose us. ... indivisible ... : We are one people. We are not divided by our enemies, nor should we divide ourselves. The allegiance we profess is not to a political party, it is to a country. The protections of that great country are not limited to those of power or wealth, nor only to those who are like us. This is a country founded by immigrants, and the immigrants of today bring that same hunger for freedom and prosperity. They deserve respect as human beings, not to be singled out for scrutiny because of their race or religion. ... with liberty and justice for all.: As we fight our enemies, we cannot forget what we are fighting to protect. We are fighting to protect many freedoms: civil liberties, our freedom to express ourselves ' even when that expression is unpopular ' our access to an open government, the right to be free from unreasonable searches, the right to open and measured justice, the right to be free people in a free land, where the government works for the benefit and betterment of all people. Neither liberty nor justice should be infringed in troubled times, for it is in just such times that the true nature of a people comes out. The 31 words of the pledge outline the people's responsibilities to their nation and the nation's responsibilities to the people. It is a contract of faith and trust that both must live up to if we are truly to win against our enemies; otherwise, the fight is lost, regardless of the outcome of on any battlefield. We know the American people will protect the treasures of freedom, liberty and justice that are entrusted to them. And in doing so, we will win the most important battle of all. Guest opinion My kindergartners gave me hope H. Jackson Brown wrote about kindergarten being the place were we can learn some of life's most significant lessons. My afternoon kindergarten class ministered to me on Sept. 11, 2001. They gave me hope. They helped me put perspective on what was happening in our world. I will always remember this specific class when I think of that dreadful day in our modern history. Since most of my students were at home that morning, they saw up-to-the-minute programming of the events as they were actually happening. It was so shocking that it did not register with many of us parents, until it was too late, that the violence was inappropriate viewing for our little ones. If we could not explain in reasonable terms what was happening for our own understanding, how could we make sense of it to our children? I decided I would not bring up the events of the morning unless they did. Who was I kidding? At our Christian school, we stand and give the pledge every day, followed by the national anthem. I had spent our first week of school dramatically acting out Francis Scott Key's dilemma. He was captured on the British ship and could see the bombing on Fort McHenry. When the bombs exploded, he was able to see our Star Spangled Banner still waving through that dreadful night. I had paced back and forth to demonstrate his anxiety that the enemy was firing on our wonderful country. What could he do? He sat down and wrote about it. Each time the rockets glared through the night, he could see our flag lit up and still proudly waving. But when morning started to break, Mr. Key searched through the smoke. Would it still be there? this time the children were typically on the edge of their seats, the suspense making their little faces full of concern even when they already knew the outcome. Then I asked the children to respond: Was our flag still there? Their resounding Yes! made it clear that they understood the significance of it. They learned to sing our national anthem, with its wide, difficult range of notes, much more enthusiastically because of this story. I did not realize during that first week of school what an impact that story would make on them in dealing with the events of Sept. 11. When we started to give the pledge that day, one student blurted out that an airplane had crashed into a tall building. Other students gave additional information, and before long, the room was filled with their anxious chattering. I knew I had to act quickly. So I took our flag from its usual place and placed it in the middle of our classroom. Then I asked the students, in terms they could understand, Oh say, does that Star Spangled Banner yet wave over the land of the free and the home of the brave? The children stopped their chatter, looked at the flag as memory dawned on them, and their faces lit up as they shouted, Yes! Then we said the pledge, sang the national anthem and prayed. We kept the flag in the middle of the classroom. My students' confidence that day will always inspire me. Now when I teach my new kindergarten class the national anthem, my voice cracks a little when I sing that last question, and it's not just because of those high notes. It is because I still remember the day that our Star Spangled Banner became a security blanket to my little students and me. I will never forget. Deborah Reed teaches kindergarten at Grace Christian School in Medford. She lives in Central Point.