I dropped my two sons off this morning for their second day of school. They go to a Catholic school, which is sometimes disorienting to me (the son of secular humanist public school educators). But given the state of Baltimore City primary and middle school education, it's less disorienting than the alternative might be. In fact, given that almost all of the teachers are certified laypeople (and not nuns), and the facilities are on par or above what kids at some county schools have, it's almost the only way in Baltimore to give my kids anything on par to what my public school education was like on Long Island. That is, except for the religious ed–but as a nominal Catholic, I'm fine with that as long as I get to deprogram them at the end of the day.

In any case, there I was, standing among other parents. watching my kids meet with schoolmates and line up to go into classes. And then, the principal came out with the flag.

After 9/11/01, the school started having all the students say the Pledge of Allegiance together out on the blacktop where they formed up before going to classes instead of reading it over the intercom. And, before marching into school, the principal led them in singing “God Bless America.”

After what seemed like a short summer (and having only hung around long enough in the morning a few times during last year to witness the ritual), seeing rows of uniformed schoolkids singing “God Bless America” facing the flag came as a surprise, somehow. It was even a little unsettling, for some reason.

When I got home, my wife reminded me that they had been doing it for the past two years. Then I remembered her mentioning it the first time, and how poignant it was to her when she witnessed it for the first time.

“I still think it's a little poignant,” she said. “Don't you?”

And that remains the question of the day: is it a sign of my cynicism that I'm uneasy about ceremonial acts of patriotism by schoolchildren in formation? Or is it simply the change in the political context that surrounds this simple, and now routine, activity? What's setting off the alarm bells for me?