One Nation, Indivisible - But What About God?

Our nation's Pledge of Allegiance currently reads as the following:

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

However, it hasn't always been that way.  The Pledge was penned in 1892 by Francis Bellamy, and was meant to be short and to the point - able to be recited in 15 seconds or less.  Our nation's original Pledge read like this:

I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

The pledge has undergone 4 "legal" edits over the years - most recently in 1954 on Flag Day where the words "under God" were added and signed into law by President Eisenhower.  With the words "under God" added in, the pledge also functions as a prayer - at least in my humble opinion.  When we declare ourselves a nation "under God" it is acknowledging His presence and essentially paying homage to His role in keeping our country indivisible.

But, our Pledge of Allegiance is just that - a national pledge that we as individuals have no right to edit or change as we see fit - no matter what our stance on God as a universal presence might be.  I look at it in much the same way as I see our need to respect our President - it's not about politics and if we are Republicans or Democrats - our President is our President - regardless of political affiliation, he or she deserves our respect.

However on Sunday, NBC's introduction to final round of coverage of the 2011 US Open eliminated not once, but TWICE, the phrase "under God" in a pre-taped segment with school children reciting the pledge alongside several other patriotic images.  

It didn't take long for the Twittersphere to whip themselves into a tizzy.  How dare a national network take it upon themselves to eliminate "under God" from our pledge?  Not once, but twice? Did they think no one would notice?

I have to say, I completely agree with the tizzy-whipped Twitteratti.  Now, I am a Christian woman and feel completely comfortable, and further, reassured with the idea that our nation is one "under God" so I realize my views may not be the same as others in our country. 

However, please explain to me how NBC thought they could eliminate "under God" not once but TWICE - and think that no one would notice?

I've worked in the broadcast world and I know a little bit about how it works.  The copy that is eventually used on camera - especially for a pre-taped segment such as this one is written, checked, checked again, triple checked, and then passed on to a supervisor for further approval.  Did every single one of those people think it was MORE offensive to leave "under God" IN the Pledge rather than remove it?  What a terrible, gigantic lapse in judgement.

But, for all of you naysayers out there - let's just say that NBC didn't "edit out" that part of the Pledge of Allegiance on purpose - just that no one noticed.

Seriously?  How is that possible? My 4 year old knows the Pledge of Allegiance by heart.  You can't tell me that someone old enough to write copy for a national network, plus their team of supervisors all managed to have a "senior moment" on the exact same part of the pledge and expect me to believe it.  Didn't we all grow up reciting those words every single morning in school?  I am just not buying it.

This was a deliberate move by SOMEONE at NBC that did not go unnoticed before it aired.  As a matter of fact I can almost promise you that several people huddled together in a room and nervously bit their nails as it finally aired on live television.  They probably also peed their pants when the backlash started.  And through all of this I can't understand how they thought eliminating these two little words, words that most people in our country have been saying all of their lives, was a good idea.

Of course, NBC issued the world's lamest apology to cover their behinds.  It didn't even directly address the issue.  Cowards.

So yeah.  I'm a little irate over the whole thing.  We are, according to our national Flag Code, one nation, UNDER GOD.  And until someone "official" changes the law and code to tell me otherwise I'm going to stick with what I'm given and not take any liberty with that.

And so should you.