No chance.

Imagine for a moment that the school board had instead voted to require the Confederate flag flown at every school or every classroom. How likely would it be that Madison progressives would decide to just let it go? After the candlelight vigils, the obligatory Capitol rallies, after the editorial board of The Capital Times had gone Code Blue, how likely would the left be to pass up a rousing recall election?

And, of course, they'd be absolutely right because there are certain moments that define us, that place our values in high relief. This was one of them.

Banning the pledge defined Madison. So will the recall.

Debate might even be healthy. The reactions of some of Madison's elected officials suggest they are not only out of touch, but unaccustomed to having to argue their positions. There was certainly nothing courageous about the board's initial vote to ban the pledge. Despite the posturing of some board members, this was not a story of courageous dissenters who stand alone. The truth is they behaved like schoolyard bullies who were surprised when the scrawny kids finally got together to fight back.

In the end, Madison's left was exposed as both arrogant and out of date. Less than a month before, terrorists murdered more than 5,000 people; the dead were of every race, religion and political persuasion. They were attacked because they were Americans and because they symbolized America to those who hated it.

At certain times, people turn to prayer or seek out loved ones to cope with tragedy. Nations reaffirm their values and hold onto their rituals of citizenship. The pledge became the words that Americans sought to understand and respond to the terror attacks. The courage of the New York rescue workers added resonance to those words which defined our unity, our identity, and our shared belief in liberty and justice for all.

How could the Madison school board not see any of this?

The querulous ideologues of the board actually seemed surprised at the reaction. They were beyond tone deaf. In their circumscribed, hermetically sealed time warp, flag waving conjured images of jingoism and right-wing super-patriots. While the rest of the country saw brave fire fighters and rescue workers, they saw flag-waving Babbitts.

Forget the pabulum about the phrase "under God." If that was the real issue, the board would be taking a stand against other outrages ranging from the Declaration of Independence (all that stuff about divine providence and endowed by their Creator) and the Wisconsin Constitution (which attributes our freedoms to "Almighty God") to dollar bills (check it out yourself.)

At bottom, the board's vote was about public displays of patriotism, flag-waving, hand-over-your-heart, bombs-bursting-in-air love of country. They simply couldn't trust Madison's schools to be patriotic. This is actually ironic, because the board's own official policy says that both the board and the staff "are dedicated completely to the principles which contribute to American democracy."

The policy goes even further: "We know that democratic self-government demands citizens who?understand well the great heritage which is theirs. We believe that the public school is the bulwark of democracy and is essential to its existence and dynamic forward thrust."

How does offering the pledge conflict with this? Or listening to the "Star Spangled Banner"?

Concerns about the sensitivities of students who would refuse to say the pledge were legitimate, but there are also times when the sensibilities of the majority also need to be taken into consideration. And compulsion was never the issue; no one was forced to say the pledge or sing the words of the anthem. In any case, the freedom to dissent does not mean freedom from disapproval or immunity from having to defend one's dissent. That's also one of the bulwarks of democracy.

It is a lesson that Madison's students and school board will be learning together.

Since the public hearing, I've thought a lot about the young man who stood before hundreds of veterans and described the flag as a "stinking piece of cloth," and equated the pledge with totalitarianism. What old battle is he still fighting? What decade is he living in? What is it that he hates? And what would he be willing to defend?

The enemy here is not some sort of workers paradise or an ideology that promises greater justice and equality. The murderers of Sept. 11 treat women as property, refuse to let them work or go to school or even leave the house; exult in the extermination of Jews, loath the very idea of religious liberty, destroy art, fear books, kill gays and infidels. They have attacked us in our home; they have killed innocents and will kill more.

If not now, when should we ever stand together as one nation under God? If not for this, then for what?

Charles J. Sykes is a Milwaukee-based writer, author and radio talk-show host. This column first appeared in Isthmus, Madison's free weekly newspaper