Had I watched the U.S. Open over the weekend, I might have seen the little patriotic montage that NBC ran. But I doubt I would have noticed what seems to have upset a lot of people — the scenes were pieced together in a way that skipped the phrase “under God” when the Pledge of Allegiance was being recited by some children. Skipped it twice, actually. And also skipped “indivisible” once. Personally, I’d just call it sloppy editing. After all, why would you repeat part of the pledge?

I’m rather amused by the big flap this is causing because I thought it was pretty obvious there was never any intention to include the entire pledge. I’m also secretly delighted to see all the fundies get bent out of shape. (I can’t help it; it’s one of my few character flaws.) What many of them may not realize is that “under God” wasn’t always in the pledge. I’m actually old enough to remember when it was added (1954) and even as a child, I resented it. I was always proud to pledge allegiance to my flag and country, but I was not about to pledge allegiance to a religious entity; that was unconstitutional. (To this day I don’t say “under God” when everyone else does. That’ll teach ’em!)

Anyway, one blog humorously suggested that NBC’s editing was what allowed a foreigner to win the Open. More serious comments contend it was a deliberate effort by NBC to advance the liberal point of view. NBC apologized, of course, but we’ll never really know, will we? Maybe it was part of a vast left-wing conspiracy …