Has Nobody Learned From Anita Bryant?

I was super fired up about the Miss California controversy, and sadly, much of my fire was taken away by a spirited conversation I had with my parents on the issue. I don't really have strong feelings about her personal opinions, because I believe everyone needs to have their own opinions. I guess I feel strongly about her colossal blunder in front of millions of people. Here's how I feel:

• I think that everyone should have their own opinions, whether they agree with mine or not. Without differing opinions we would live in an unstimulating, static society without any change. With that said, I feel that every human deserves the same rights as others. Just because they're different from me doesn't make them deviant or inferior.



• If I were involved with pageants, I truly feel that I would understand the expectation of being politically correct. Please, by all means, go home and be a hate monger on your own time, but don't act shocked if you're a beauty queen and people are mad if you don't represent all that is open-minded and pure. The voyage of a beauty queen is one of acceptance and inclusion...those pageants are not meant to be grandstands for moral issues. If you want to voice your opinion then go be a commentator on Fox News.



• If you enter a pageant and commit yourself to a cause, oh, let's just say the Special Olympics, try not to turn around and change your cause to something less benevolent. It's really bad form to represent yourself one way and bait-and-switch later.



• If you're going to join with a conservative Christian group, scour the Earth to ensure no surprise pictures of you topless could surface.



• While I think Carrie Prejean answered the question unwisely, I also have to look back to when I was 21 (seriously, is she just 21? Those girls are made up to within an inch of their lives). I would have wanted to spew out my personal feelings on an issue, but I WOULD LIKE to think that I would have said something diplomatic. Note: Anyone who knew me at 21 knows that I would have shoved my foot and all the judges feet into my mouth and swallowed hard.

Like I said, I brought it up with my parents (mostly my dad) and our discussion pretty much purged a lot of my feelings on it. I have to admit, I feel sorry for Carrie Prejean. I think she's a kid who thought she was being true to herself and let things get carried away afterward (meaning getting involved with the right-wing peeps). She's probably a good person who doesn't really know who she is yet...perhaps being molded by her upbringing. I would really hope that she would have at least looked to see what her future could become by going down this road of self-righteousness. Anita Bryant was the beauty queen sweety-pie of everyone - until she took on gay rights issues. She now lives in poverty, estranged from both sides of the issue (except for her hate-preaching website...I guess she still has that).