What was more telling than the reaction of those gathered from around the nation in Madison Square was the reaction of the tens of thousands of New York City police who provided the front lines of security for the event. Each day, as I made my way from my hotel through the masses of demonstrators and endless traffic jams to the convention center, "New York's Finest" were helpful and encouraging. But they also displayed a level of emotion for President Bush that took me by surprise ? the cops I spoke with are profoundly grateful to this president for his resolve to obtain justice for their fallen comrades. In New York City, the memory of that bright September morning ? now forever marred by the blood of so many innocents ? is vivid and alive ... and still very painful.
When I asked one policeman of his remembrances of Sept. 11, he said he still has difficulty even thinking about it, and talking about friends he lost is nearly impossible. He quietly replied that America must win the war against terrorism at home by fighting it abroad. For the cops on the streets of New York City, it's obvious that evil should be stamped out at its roots instead of waiting for it to crush us in our hometowns.
But there were other groups amassed outside the convention hall, and the demeanor of these crowds ? the protestors ? was quite different from those of the cops or convention attendees. Their tones were of discontent, anger ? even hatred.
Of course, the radical "pro-choice" crowd is always in attendance at such events. One afternoon, my 12-year-old daughter, Kristin, and I passed a group of protestors that included a boy of about 5-years-old and his mother, both of whom were wearing T-shirts emblazoned with pro-choice messages. Kristin looked up at me in horror and said, "Gosh, I can't believe that boy's mother is making him wear a shirt that says it would have been OK for her to kill him if she wanted to."
At unexpected moments over the next several days Kristin would bring up the subject again: "How can we allow such evil, in the United States? How can mothers want to have the right to kill their own children?" These are questions I cannot answer, because I do not understand myself.
Discussion of values and freedom are abundant in the Hagelin household. Our children receive a steady diet of information on current issues, and conservative principles, and of the importance of these values over party affiliation. Our kids have also heard many a parental sermon on the importance of preserving freedom, making sacrifices when need be, and of the necessity of protecting those who have no voice.
Yet, during the week of the RNC ? with all the forces on both sides of the ideological aisle armed with their most powerful messages and with their most important values on display, my little girl clearly saw the differences between conservative and liberal ideals, and saw her own way through to what is right and just. Would be that others could see it so clearly, too.