What I think: Shame on you, NBC!

Today is Father's Day and, as is custom, it's also the final round of the U.S. Open Golf Championship, televised on NBC.

I eagerly awaited the opening of the telecast, knowing that NBC would likely tie in Father's Day along with a patriotic theme, given the venue of Congressional Country Club in suburban Washington, D.C.

NBC obliged with the patriotic theme, juxtaposing an elementary class of children reciting the Pledge of Allegiance with shots from the previous three rounds of the tournament. However, in showing two different renditions of the pledge, the words "under God" were omitted--glaringly so.

For those who need a reminder, the Pledge of Allegiance goes like this: "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."

Now, the words "under God," in full disclosure, have been challenged in various ways for the past three to four decades. Most recently, on March 11, 2010, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld the words in the case of Newdow v. Rio Linda Union School District. In the decision, the appellate court ruled that the words were of a "ceremonial and patriotic nature" and did not constitute an establishment of religion. And, in November of that same year, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Boston, in a unanimous decision, affirmed a ruling by a New Hampshire lower federal court which found that the pledge's reference to God didn't violate students' rights.

Obviously, NBC didn't adequately check out the background of these two words in the pledge and how they have been protected for over 50 years. Instead, they took it upon themselves to edit out the words and changed our country's pledge in a way that is, simply, unacceptable.

(EDITOR'S NOTE: NBC apologized, at 3:35 p.m. CDT--on air--for the editing of the Pledge of Allegiance.)