WILL COLD REALITY BREED PATRIOTISM?

The guys down at the American Legion and VFW posts have been glued to their TV sets like the rest of us, hoping that this tidal wave of patriotism the country is riding right now will spill over into the local high schools.

It's tough to find a pulse anymore on concepts like patriotism and democracy there these days. It's been getting a little fainter every year, says Perry Jones.

Last year, when Jones' Woodland Hills-Chatsworth VFW Post sent out fliers on its Voice of Democracy Scholarship Contest to the six high schools in its area, they got back two entries.

Two out of more than 10,000 students enrolled in the schools.

The two boys sewed up first and second place, winning $150 and $100 respectively. Since no one claimed the third-place money, it went back into the till.

``Some kid just had to talk into a tape recorder about patriotism for a few minutes, and he or she would have won $75,'' said Jones, who runs the contest for the local post.

Things aren't looking a whole lot better this year, he said Friday. He sent out a fax to the schools a few weeks ago, putting in big, bold letters at the top that a student could win a $25,000 college scholarship if he or she went all the way and won at the national level.

``I haven't got one entry so far, but it's still early,'' Jones said Friday. It's not that early. The deadline for the contest is Nov. 1.

Over at the American Legion posts, where high school students can get thousands of dollars in scholarships by winning oratorical contests on the U.S. Constitution at the district, state and national level, participation isn't much better.

``We've had scholarships to give, but very few kids seem to want to study the U.S. Constitution hard enough to enter the contest to try to win,'' said Bob Myers, who beat the bushes trying to recruit local high school students for the contest in his American Legion Van Nuys Post 193 area.

``They have to give a five- to eight-minute presentation on any part of the Constitution they choose, then answer some questions about it,'' he said.

But less than a handful of students ever reply to the fliers sent to hundreds of school classrooms, Myers said.

Who knows, these vets say - maybe this week from hell will help change that.

Maybe if anything good can possibly come out of so much evil, it's the cold, hard slap of reality our kids have gotten right across the face this week.

Patriotism and democracy aren't concepts in a school book anymore - they're flesh and blood. Sometimes, a lot of blood.

``So much has changed on campus this week,'' said Daniel Solomin, a senior at Van Nuys High, who attended the American Legion's Boys State program last year.

``Kids who were nonchalant and never very vocal about American pride before are standing up and saying they're proud to be Americans now. It's been so much more visible.

``I can't realistically say it will last, but if the VFW and American Legion members came on campus right now, they'd get a lot more kids entering their scholarship contests,'' he said.

So, there it is, guys - that pulse of patriotism and democracy you've been waiting to feel again on high school campuses. The kids are ready - go get 'em.

Entries in the Voice of Democracy competition must be sponsored by a VFW post, so contact the post in your community if you're interested.