This is a comment re: Air Talk, 09-15-05, The Pledge of Allegiance. I was a second grader in Honolulu, HI when the phrase "under God" was suddenly inserted into the Pledge of Allegiance. As the child of an agnostic/Buddhist family, I was painfully aware that these two words were not innocuous and went against the beliefs of my parents. Being a rather stoic seven-year-old, I took matters into my own hands and made the personal decision simply not to utter the inappropriate religious reference. This practice subjected me to acute anxiety throughout my childhood. I felt a moral obligation to leave out the offensive phrase but was always afraid that a school mate or teacher would notice, and subject me to some embarassing confrontation or even disciplinary measure. Luckily no one did notice my edited version of the text.

Children are largely unprotected amongst their peers and forcing one with a different belief system to make a such a public and potentially emotionally/psychologically damaging choice is, in my opinion and personal experience, unconscionable.

I think it is a shame that it takes a catastrophic event to remind us how critically important it is for everyone to have an emergency kit at home. I guess the problem is that people are either complacent, they don't know what to get or, they wait until the very last minute and do not have the time to go to all of the stores to get what they need. Yesterday, a DECA business high-school student knocked on door and told the family about the fundraiser for their high-school club. They were selling a 72-hour emergency kit called the Ready Kit from American Family Safety. I don't remember everything that the kit had but, it was designed by the department of homeland security and had three days of water, food, radio, flashlight batteries and a first aid kit and a lot of other stuff all in an orange backpack. Talk about convenient. The student was selling it for $49 and a portion went to the neighborhood DECA club who was raising funds for Red Cross. The product gets shipped right to the house from UPS too. I think it is a great idea to educate everyone about the need for these products. The fundraiser is from www.americanfamilysafety.com and it's a lot better than buying the chocolate bars or cookies.

You can also find all kinds of emergency preparedness info and supplies on www.survivalmountain.com