At the 2009 California State Young Republican Convention, I had the pleasure of speaking with and listening to Miss California Carrie Prejean.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrie_Prejean
I had actually met Ms. Prejean one week earlier in her native San Diego at Sean Hannity’s Freedom Concert. She was lovely to everyone she encountered, posing for pictures and signing autographs.
I also met her parents at the Freedom Concert, and they simply came across as incredibly kind human beings.
They have met multitudes of people lately, so I was surprised when they remembered me at the Young Republican Convention. It was only six days later, but the sheer number of people they meet is overwhelming. They greeted me warmly, which seems to very consistent with how they treat everybody.
The Prejean family is a religious Christian family, which seems to show another example of how religion, when practiced the right way, is a force for goodness and generosity of spirit.
(The family empathy includes warm sentiments toward Miss North Carolina, the official winner. Many people do not know Miss North Carolina’s name, and this is unfortunate. This is important because the Prejean family recognizes that two girls were hurt by unfortunate events, not one. They feel for the other girl, while maintaining love for their own daughter.)
If Carrie Prejean were merely a nice person living in this world, she most likely would not be the celebrity she is today. However, it is unfortunate that her newfound fame comes not as a result of her inner and outer beauty, but due to the fact that this very beauty was attacked by a left-wing ideologically bigoted bully.
She was cruising to being a pageant winner in the Miss USA contest when one of the judges decided to use his power to launch an assault on her.
Perez Hilton is a radical gay activist and vicious human being. He does not reflect the many decent and gay Americans that merely want acceptance and love by society. He despises those that disagree with his views, and decided to turn the Miss USA Pageant into his own political crusade.
He asked Ms. Prejean about her views on gay marriage, knowing full well that she held traditional Christian views on the subject.
In an overwhelmingly polite manner, she stated that while she respected all people and those with opposing views, she personally felt that marriage was between a man and a woman.
Whether one agrees with her or not, the real question that night should have been what a person’s views n gay marriage have to do with a beauty pageant. The answer is absolutely nothing. The purpose of the question was to humiliate Ms. Prejean.
Ms. Prejean could have done what many conservatives do in a liberal setting. She could have hid her views for fear of being a victim of ideological bigotry.
I identify with her.
Before I met the Sacramento Queen, my current Republican girlfriend, my Jewish dating website profile listed my political views as “unspecified” due to fear of being attacked by liberal women. These fears were well-founded based on repeated real experiences, which led to my blogging and authoring a book to begin with. I identify with Ms. Prejean because we both allowed ourselves to triumph over our haters. However, where we diverge is that she exhibited her bravery loudly and proudly. She has inspired me to be more open and proud of my political leanings, and for this I thank her.
Ms. Prejean decided to put her principles above her desire to win a crown and plenty of glory. She had to make a split second decision that should never have been placed in front of her. She lost the crown, but kept her honor intact.
For this and so many other reasons, it was a privilege to hear the inspiring words of Carrie Prejean.
With that, I present the woman that we all know is truly Miss USA.
“Had I not competed to be Miss California or Miss USA, I would not be able to do and talk about things that I am passionate about.”
“I did not talk until I was age 4. My dad says that I have more than made up for it.”
(Editor’s note: With me it was age 3 1/2. My dad says the same thing. That ends the list of strange coincidences.)
“I was a tomboy growing up. I won a national championship in softball, and I have the scars to prove it. I also played basketball and ran track.”
“I come from a big Italian family. I have 26 cousins, and my grandmother has 27 grandchildren and 27 great-grandchildren. It was hard giving up pasta and bread to compete for the pageant.”
“My grandfather fought at the Battle of the Bulge. My other grandfather fought in the Korean War. My sister is currently serving in the Air Force. My family personally knows the importance of our soldiers, and we love them.”
“I grew up in San Diego. I decided to attend college in Santa Barbara so I could be on my own. That lasted one semester. I called my parents and said that I really wanted to come home. I then went to San Diego Christian State. I wanted to feel normal for choosing to stay home on a Friday night and read the Bible.”
“At age 17 a friend suggested that I enter a beauty pageant. So I did.”
“My athletic career instilled competitiveness in me. I was second runner up in my first beauty pageant, and I wanted to win.”
“My sister is completely liberal, and I am conservative, but I love her. We are a team.”
“Preparing for the Miss California pageant was hard work. It is not just putting on a gown and walking.”
“I won Miss California in November, and I then began to prepare for the Miss USA pageant in April at age 21.”
“My dad and I worked for hours on questions to prepare me for the pageant. We discussed the propositions, the bailout package, and other current events.”
“The pageant was in Las Vegas. Living for three weeks with fifty girls was definitely an experience.”
“The purpose of the question and answer session is to see if the contestants will just be themselves, to see if they can handle the pressure. I prepared myself for 500 questions.”
“When the question I got was asked of me, I knew it was designed to humiliate me. I was torn. Either way, I would be offending someone.”
“As soon as he began the question, my heart sunk. I knew that I was going to lose the crown.”
“I had to choose between truth and a tiara. I had to give up something I wanted for so long.”
“I just believed that God was telling me that ‘This is not what I want for your life.'”
“There was no way I would back down to that stupid judge.”
“I tried to be respectful and acknowledge his point of view. Yet I believe marriage should be between a man and a woman.”
“After I gave my answer, he didn’t even look at me the rest of the night. I still can’t believe I got that question.”
“I am so grateful I got that question. It has been a blessing in disguise.”
“Later that night after the pageant, I just wanted a burger and fries and a Coke.”
“The question was bad enough. Yet the pageant should have been the end fo it. Then the judge had to go call me a ‘Dumb B.”
(Ms. Prejean, ever the lady, does not curse. She actually used the letter “b” rather than say the word. She also said the letter “a”, using the term “Dumb A” rather than the actual word.)
“Why was I called a ‘Dumb B?” Because I wouldn’t give in to that judge to win that crown.”
“I thought this would go away. My sister predicted that I would be on the Today Show, but why would anyone want to interview me? I didn’t win.”
“There was nothing wrong with what I said.”
“I asked myself, ‘Why God? Why am I going into a media firestorm?'”
“I can relate to Esther in the Old Testamanet.”
(Ms. Prejean then went on to tell the story of Esther and Mordechai in a way that would make Jewish scholars proud. I have Jewish friends with less knowledge of the story of Esther than Ms. Prejean.)
“As Esther said, ‘When I go before the King, if I perish, I perish.'”
“Is it that God trusted that I’d answer the question the right way? No, it’s that I learned that I told myself that ‘You have the courage to get through this junk and remain still standing.'”
“We are all tested, and have to choose between right and wrong. We can fight, or we can back down to popular culture.”
“I have no regrets.”
“What I have learned is that we all have a voice. We all have freedom of speech.”
“Yet tolerance is not a two way street with some people. Nevertheless, we have to set the example. We have to show civility and tolerance.”
“God has a bigger crown in Heaven for me than amy man can give me on Earth.”
“We should seek God’s approval, not man’s approval.”
“Some people come up to me and quietly say ‘We support you.’ I ask them why they are whispering, or why they say it off camera.”
“I want to be biblically correct, not politically correct.”
“We all have the right to exercise all of our freedoms, including freedom of speech.”
“Everybody stand…as I am still standing.”
Everybody did stand, in the form of a sustained and well deserved ovation.
For those who do not know, people do truly get what they deserve. Perez Hilton tried bullying somebody affiliated with the music group “Black Eyed Peas.” Unlike Ms. Prejean, they fought back physically, resulting in a Black Eyed Perez.
There is no black mark on Ms. Prejean. Through it all, she maintained her dignity and honor.
Ms. Prejean is well on her way to fame and fortune. She is well on her way to a successful book tour. She is on her way to a lifetime of happiness.
Every ounce of this is well deserved for one reason.
Before she was well on her way to anything, she was who she simply is and who she will be.
She is a kind human being with a good heart, a beautiful human being inside.
That will never be taken away from her.
eric