Ah, Madison. It is our beautiful, majestic state capital surrounded by the twin lakes Mendota and Manona. The UW there gives the state Big Ten football to cheer on autumn Saturdays. Until recently, it was the home of The Onion, the nation’s foremost satirical newspaper. State Street allows for both a festive nightlife and some of the best arts and crafts stores in the state.

Then there is the downside to Mad Town. The highway system that makes the LA freeways seem lame. The lack of decent parking near or around anything. The limited amount of tickets to a Badger football game.

Then there is that whole intolerant, politically correct obsessed culture that grips the city more tightly than Linus to his blanket.

This was seen quite clearly on Oct. 8 when the Madison School Board voted 3-2 to ban in its schools the reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance because of the two words “under God” and the “Star Spangled Banner” because of all those bombs bursting in air. Instead, only the instrumental version will be heard. Funny, wonder how long that will last – the music for the anthem is an 18th century drinking song “To Anacreon in Heaven.”

The whole decision stems from a law added to the 2001-2003 biannual budget that gave school districts in the state the option of reciting the Pledge or singing the anthem daily. Students have the option of abstaining when the school’s choice is presented. The idea behind the law, presented by Assembly Speaker Scott Jensen (R-Waukesha), is to give the state’s school children a daily shot of patriotism.

The question comes to mind just why the Sam-hill do we need a law like this in the first place. In my hometown school district, we recited the pledge daily from K-12 without a state mandate. We just did, even if along the way we lost the meaning behind those words. I even had the duty for one week in junior high to lead the entire school in the pledge.

I took it as an honor, not a burden.

Was I supporting militarism, imperialism, jingoism or any other -ism by my reciting of the pledge? No. I simply understood that however imperfect this nation and this world are, that flag and this nation have been a beacon for all that is good, just and right in the world.

The simple fact is that only six parents and teachers publicly opposed the sighting of the pledge at the meeting Monday. The school board gave in to the vocal minority and the lobbying of Anne Gaylor, president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, simply for the two words “under God.”

These two words have been the subject of debate and scrutiny since they were added in 1954. They have been challenged, sued over, appealed and fought tooth and nail by groups like Ms. Gaylor’s and the ACLU who see the biggest threat to students as rouge crucifixes and stars of David instead of broken homes and apathetic teachers.

Yet, in a cruel twist of irony, most constitutional scholars think that the two words will not be going anywhere. In his concurring opinion to Abington School District vs. Schempp, the case that prohibited public officials from saying the Lord’s Prayer. Justice William Brennan wrote that “under God,” “may merely recognize the historical fact that our Nation was believed to have been founded `Under God.’ Thus reciting the pledge may be no more of a religious exercise than the reading aloud of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, which contains an allusion to the same historical fact.”

It could have been worse, though. The two that voted against the ban thought that the measure didn’t go far enough. Only in Madison would the middle of the road be a ban on the Pledge of Allegiance.

Yet, even in Madison, a city that competes against Berkeley for PC capital of the United States, common sense is starting to take hold. On Tuesday alone, the Board received 426 e-mails, 422 opposed the prior night’s action. The Board has promised to revisit the issue in a special meeting tonight.

In a nation that has once again found its spirit and reason to be patriotic, let’s make sure they do the smart thing, not the politically correct one.