It's nice to believe our children will spontaneously develop the difficult abstract concepts of citizenship as they grow older, but there is a real human function for rituals and traditions in building these ideas.

There is nothing wrong with traditions like the Pledge. Even here in the heart of liberal-land my kid's schools still do it. "Under God" and all, if you can believe it. Lord knows we do little else in our schools to get our children to believe they are part of something good and larger than themselves in this country.

The tradition and ritual involved in a marriage has a significance to the human mind beyond the legality, and there's nothing wrong with repeating it if it seems appropriate.

I took my wife to the altar again on our 25th anniversary, her steps halting and infirm in a way they were not the first time, and swore before her, God, and my family and friends that when I said "in sickness and in health," I damn well meant it.

I wonder how many fewer divorces there would be if people DID renew their wedding vows more often than they do.