NBC edits "under God" out of Pledge - twice! Demand an explanation! (June 21, 2011)
NBC introduced its Sunday coverage of the US Open golf championship with a patriotically-themed piece, which included two recitations of the Pledge of Allegiance by American schoolchildren.
Astonishingly, NBC edited the words "under God" out of the Pledge not once but twice. Then an NBC commentator apologized on air later in the broadcast, admitting that NBC had edited the Pledge, but saying nothing, absolutely nothing, about which part of the Pledge NBC deliberately left on the cutting room floor.
NBC clumsily tried to conceal its insult to America's religious heritage by inserting voice-overs after the words that preceded "under God," in the vain hope that the American people would not notice. It didn't work.
Watch the video montage here, in which you can see for yourself the hatchet job NBC did on the Pledge, and the network's evasive apology.
NBC has offered no justification for its intentional decision to leave God out of the Pledge. Call or email NBC today and demand an explanation.
National Broadcasting Company, Inc.
30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10112
212-664-4444
nbcsportshelp@nbcuni.com
Chris McCloskey - V.P., Communications
NBC Sports
(212) 664-5598
christopher.mccloskey@nbcuni.com
Talking points for the phone call:
1. I am furious with NBC for leaving "under God" out of the Pledge not once but twice in Sunday's coverage of the US Open golf championship.
2. NBC's on-air apology is completely unsatisfactory, because NBC did not admit which part of the Pledge had been removed.
3. I am calling to insist on an explanation from NBC for this grossly unpatriotic act.
8 comments:
I posted this on my facebook page..the video and the email addresses. This upsets me too! They knew exactly what they were doing when they left out the words
"Under God". I do not accept their apology because it is not sincere. Thank you for posting this.
While I disagree with NBC being deceptive about what was left out, I think that given changing attitudes with respect to religious freedom (which includes agnoticism or atheism) and the separation of church and state, I think it is appropriate that for students who choose not to say "under god" during the reading of the Pledge in schools, that is totally appropriate.
How is the editing unpatriotic? The pledge is about allegiance to our country, not a god.
Did you know that the Pledge, as it was originally written, didn't include the phrase, "under God?" That phrase was added in the 1950s. (Here's an article about the history of the pledge: http://www.slate.com/id/2067499/)
Given the emphasis on a separation of church and state, I don't think the phrase should ever have been added.
All citizens of the US should be able to recite the pledge and mean it. What of those who don't believe in God, or believe in a different deity/deities? How can the pledge be meaningful to them?
The pledge was meant for people to pledge allegiance to US, not to a god. Adding in that phrase is exclusionary.
I think it should never have been changed and I don't understand the furor at NBC.
I am religious, I do believe in God. However, there are many, many, many people in our country and throughout the world that use their religion as a weapon or an excuse to cause harm to others/deny others their rights/etc. I don't want religion mixing with my government.
I say we revert back to the original pledge, then we don't have to worry about Christians getting their panties in a knot about stuff like this.
I appreciate every viewpoint -- I, personally, would rather pledge my allegiance to God and not a country.
Wendi- do you say the pledge then? Because the Pledge of Allegiance is to the flag- which stands for the US of A- not to a god.
Would you pledge allegiance to the flag if the "under God" part had never been added?
I don't really have a problem pledging allegiance to the US, under one, Christian God, as that matches my personal beliefs.
What about friends of yours that are not Christian, believe in a different god, or don't believe in any god at all?
Don't you want all of your countrymen/women to be able to pledge allegiance to the US in a personally meaningful way?
The US was founded, in large part, to provide a place of religious freedom and tolerance. I think adding the "under God" and specifically meaning the Christian God is really exclusionary.
I appreciate what you are saying (and respect how kindly you are commenting about a touchy subject) but no matter when it was added, it was added to our pledge. I think the network making the decision to leave it out, purposefully, twice, is as offensive to me as it is to those who feel required to say it.
The argument about whether it should have ever been added is a compeltely separate argument from the one I am making that IF this is the current pledge, it should be said as such.
I believe that we are a Christian nation. I believe we are a successful nation because of the Lord and that excluding Him will utlimately cost us our country. In the Middle East, countries are Muslim and there is no problem with the country being as such. (I could list 1,000 thing about how this is evident). I believe we were founded as a Christian nation and feel that any changes are just slight changes that will ultimately costs us our future as a country.
I respect what you are saying but respectfully disagree.
Given the multitude of religious beliefs in the US, you cannot really say the US is a Christian nation any longer. While we may have been “founded as a Christian nation”, this is no longer the case. The inclusion of freedom of religion in the constitution solidifies the country’s status as a secular country. The establishment clause of the first amendment prohibits the establishment of an official state religion or laws that show preference for one religion over another. If you go back and read your post you keep saying I (I think, I believe, I believe, I believe, etc.). That is the point. You believe what you believe, and you are welcome to recite the pledge with the words “under God” or pray or show your allegiance to God in any other way you see fit. However, including the word “under God” is making other people recite something they don’t believe in.
I don't believe anyone is required to say the pledge with "under God." I respectfully see your point on that.
However, as it stands right now, those words ARE in the pledge. My point in sharing this post was that, if that is the case, if the pledge is going to be said in public (on TV) it should be said with the phrase and not edited as someone sees fit.
I aso have to disagree .... if we were founded as a Christian nation, I want to try to prevent that from changing.
I live in a Muslim country and have to respect their rules and laws and the way they do things because this is the country I live in. I feel the same way about the USA.
We may just have to disagree here. But I appreciate the kind and positive discussion (instead of mud-slinging.) I think this is the way discussions should always go.
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