Apparently Ms. Prejean doesn’t see it necessary to apply her ‘Christian values’ to herslef, only to those that SHE judges.

I feel what is sad is that she (Carrie Prejean) is too young to realize that she is a pawn in an awful game here. The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) is using her for their advantage. Carrie Prejean is not married and cannot talk from experience what marriage is.
The religious right seems to be “selective” in what they see as “truth”. On one hand, they claim that she spoke the “TRUTH” which cost her the crown but on the other hand she lied by signing the pageant document saying she never took “nude or semi nude” photos of herself by seemingly ignore this when applauding her merits.
I also agree with you that her moral actions sends mixed message to young women everywhere. I am NOT a fan of beauty pageants. I am also NOT a fan of Perez Hilton either. So, I think neither he nor Ms. Prejean are innocent is this ordeal. However, I think Mr Hilton learned from his mistake and toned down his hostility and poor choice of language (when he attacked Ms. Prejean) in his blog.
There is one underlying mistake that I see “Americans” making in their moral judgement. I feel that society has lost the ability to distinguish between “morals” and “ethics” and I really think you should do an article to teach the difference. I have some examples to help you convey this so that people understand it better.

I disagree that it’s all about self-esteem issues. Alot of women do pageants because of the opportunites and rewards of things like scholarships (that’s a biggie), speaking opportunities, and just the whole opportunity to develp their skills in terms of p.r. skills. I was never in a pageant, but looking back, I kinda wish I had been. Not for the sake of the beauty contest part but just for the opportunity to have developed some of those skills and to have met all the people that they meet.
I do think though that Miss America has a little more substance than Miss USA simply because there is talent involved, but I don’t think we should be judging the motives of those involved when we really don’t know for sure what they are. Sure, for many of them, it’s the power/self-esteem that comes with pageantry. I don’t fully feel that’s the case though with Carrie Prejean. If that had truly been her only desire, she would not have taken the stand that she has. She wouldn’t have been willing to endure what she’s endured. She would’ve “caved” long ago, and she probably never would’ve gave the answer she gave to begin with.
I also hope that maybe she will surrender her crown, not because I feel she should but because I would like for her to be able to continue speaking out as she has been. I think Miss CA pageant will try to stifle her, and I think we need her voice and her influence on young people, who can look to her as an example of someone who will not be bullied, shamed, or destroyed by the “flaming liberals,” who, unlike yourself according to your post, enjoy destroying their “enemies” (Christians, conservatives, Republicans… and ESPECIALLY Christian conservative WOMEN).
Also, she never judged anyone for their homosexual lifestyle. She simply stated her belief on marriage, and she believes the way she does based on what the Bible says and her personal views of marriage and how it should be between a man and woman. She has not once slandered or mocked hommos (which they’ve done to her), she hasn’t given her opinion on their lifestyle (gay sex, AIDS, etc). Hilton asked her for her opinion on homo marriage. She gave it. She was polite and gracious, and I am sooooooo proud of her and admire her soooooo much for the grace and strength with which she has handled herself as she has faced harrassment and abuse for her opinion, an opinion which 70% of the American population agrees with.

Rob,
Gays and lesbians are also not married, so just like Prejean, they also cannot talk about the experience of marriage. So, do you really think that not being married thus discredits your opinion on marriage? Do you even understand the hypocrisy of what you just said? We need to take homosexual’s opinions on marriage to heart but not someone like Prejean, who is unmarried, despite the fact that homosexuals are also unmarried? That’s a completely hypocritical, double-standarded statement.
You said you think neither she nor Hilton are “innocent?” Is anyone in this world truly “innocent” in anything? I don’t know where we get this expectation that if anyone does even the slightest and smallest thing wrong, they are just slammed for it. Especially if they happen to be a Christian! No, neither of them are “innocent,” but Prejean has not conducted herself in the mean-spirited, hostile, vicious ways that Hilton has.
But he has most definitley NOT “learned” a thing. He still mocks her, and he delights in the harrassment she has received. He still mocks celebs and he has no regard for other people. He is EXTREMELY narcissistic and arrogant. I see no change whatsoever in him. IF there is any “toning down” it is not because he cares about Prejean or feels any human concern for her. It is only because of the backlash he’s received for his intolerable and bigoted behavior.

Right on the money!! And when Donald Trump, the judge of what’s ethical and moral, says the Pageant (which he owns) and contestant are flawless, we should all pay heed to what this narcissitic loud-mouth has to say.

“Filed Under: beauty pageant, breast implants, Carrie Prejean, cosmetic surgery, Miss California, Miss USA”
Beliefnet has a catagory called “breast implants”?
Must be one of those liberal religiouns.

“Rogue model.” I’m going to steal that one to describe myself in my next book.

Wow, amazing article! I’ve been reading and hearing way too much about this whole sad mess and this, I must say, is a really interesting perspective. Instead of just shouting “THIS IS AMERICA” and “what about free speech”, you’ve taken the Miss Cali drama and broadened it to highlight the real issues inside pageantry and, therefor, inside American culture. Then, instead of getting angry about Carrie’s hipocrosy (to quote a friend, “who does this hooker think she is, and where does she get off telling people who to love?”), you decide to take a step back and direct your anger where it really belongs; the people running the show who are taking advantage of beautiful, empty young women. It’s nowhere near helpful, in this day and age, to have an annual beauty contest paid for by Donald Trump, of all people (who, clearly, sees his investment into pageantry as a fantastic and convenient way to choose his next few wives). But maybe it’s also less than helpful to tear these women apart, calling them b*thces and wh*res because of our own displeasure with the crude shallowness of society.
I think that it’s been acceptable now for quite a while, at least since the 90′s, to mock pageants as a way to show dissatisfaction with the whole archaic affair. Calling someone a “beauty queen” is more of an insult than a compliment and I really can’t think of a modern-day Miss USA (which includes a fine selection of drug addicts, alcoholics, bigots, nude “models”) who would be respected anywhere in the world besides whichever medieval portion of America can still be happy about this sort of thing. This is the year 2009 and last week we got to turn on the TV to see 50-something young women being paraded around under bright lights like bedazzled dogs and horses so they can literally be judged on a slew of criteria including- but certainly not limited to- their physical appearance (which apparently is all about being proportionate, whatever they think that means), their “personality”, and their “talents”. Based on that list, I don’t even think that judging these women on their appearance is the worst thing we put them through. I mean, you’d need to be living in the 50′s or 60′s to think it’s okay to require that every woman have a “talent”. These days women are allowed be intelligent and attractive at the exact same time (wow!), so girls today aren’t wasting their time like their grandparents did with “traditional” female schooling that includes garbage like singing, music, and etiquette lessons so they can grow up to be proper ladies and decent wives. And judging personality? Really? I’m not sure the best way to judge personality is to ask questions you fully expect to be answered with silly, empty platitudes that perfectly match their silly, empty smiles (except if you’re Miss Cali and you’d just like to take a quick moment to offend half your audience and all the people who just spent the day slaving over your makeup, hair, and styling).
Either way, it goes without saying that this woman is a terrible role model, no matter what your political views are. Her insight into marriage (“Marriage is good. Without it, children wouldn’t have mothers and fathers”…) is about as useful to the world as a bucket of lukewarm hamster vomit. And I think those are the grounds on which people should be criticizing her. I don’t care about her homophobic parents’ messy divorce or the fact that it’s super easy to get her naked for the camera. No, those things aren’t important to the issue at hand and the people who support her have no problem turning a blind eye to hypocrisy anyway. But liberals and conservatives alike should be able to see that, apart from the fact that she’s obviously chosen a stance, she has nothing helpful to contribute to either side of the marriage equality debate. If conservatives are really going to prop her up as the “defender of traditional marriage”, well then their crusade will be as empty as the bubbles floating around in Miss Cali’s pretty but useless head.

Speaking of “opposite” marriage, where’s the crusade against the ever-increasing divorce rate. Or, since this is a free country and divorce is obviously not a sin, why aren’t they going after the seriously disgusting reality shows that turn traditional marriage into a complete joke? Especially since tv is so much more influential on society than what citizens are doing in the privacy of their own homes. I guess you can say whatever you want about gay marriage. But, if you oppose marriage equality because of tradition, it’s completely hypocritical to ignore shows like “The Bachelor” and “Who Wants to Marry a Millionaire”.
This one has to be the worst of all: I remember it was maybe 6 years ago or something. Who knows, because ever since I’ve been trying to convice myself it was all a bad dream. Anyway, I’m watching TV, minding my own business, when I come across a show called (this is not a joke!) “Married By America”. Now, if you saw this show or know at all what I’m talking about, I feel for you because I saw it too. This show was like a evil cross between “The Bachelor” and “Who Wants to Marry a Millionaire”, except completely disgusting. For the first show, something like 50 brides and 50 grooms prance around on stage in front of a studio audience in a Miss-USA-style pageant (and yes, all 100 contestants were in weddings gowns and tuxes already). Now, keep in mind that NONE of these brides and grooms know each other. That’s why it’s SO unbelievable and sick that, at the end of the first show (that’s right, the very FIRST one)that studio audience got to VOTE to pair up 5 couples to get engaged RIGHT THERE on stage, that night!!! And, just in case that wasn’t absurd enough for you, the couples were not allowed to meet or even see each other before the proposals. In fact, the image burned into my mind is a little like this: after the audience votes which bride goes with which groom, the bride comes out on stage and a screen is lowered down in front of her. The screen has a small hole in the middle of it, and you’re definitely wondering what it’s for until the groom strolls out and… OMIGOD NO!! The bride places her left hand through the hole and into the hand of the fiance she has never seen, who is now fastening a ring onto her finger as some sort of symbol of their vague non-bond. This happened five times that night. And then I had nightmares. Over the following weeks, the show progressed in disgustingness, filming the “couples” as they moved into a The Bachelor-style mansion and tried to create some sort of relationship before their weddings, which obviously coincided with the show’s finale. The “engaged” strangers were required to live together, eat together, and even sleep in the same bed from day one. And in the end, which I’m assuming was like day 20, NONE of the couples married. I remember one particularly unstable bride spending several somewhat-suicidal hours in a closet after her “fiance” never showed up to the altar. To this day I have never seen a more heartbreaking or disastrous ending to any reality show, and there have been some great contenders since.
I’m a liberal, so I believe in equality for all people in all areas of life. But even if I didn’t, I think I would still be practical enough to see that, as long as straight people seem perfectly happy turning marriage into a prize to be won at the end of game shows, there’s really nothing wrong with letting real couples with genuine love spend their lives together. So, I guess my point is this: If you call yourself a social conservative, that probably means you have traditional views of most things, including marriage. There’s obviously nothing wrong with tradition. But, if the only thing about marriage that concerns you is that same-sex couples may one day have the same rights you do, that means your just a common bigot. If that’s the case, then maybe you should step back from judging people who are different than you and take a good long look in the mirror. Jesus has some pretty good advice for people that throw stones. It’s in a book called the Bible, which is all about love and empathy. Maybe you should read it, Carrie.

Carrie Prejean was asked whether she thought the United States of America should legalize same-sex marriage. She stated that she believed that “marriage should be between a man and a woman.” She was not asked to take a moral or ethical position on same-sex marriage.
Barack Obama was quoted as saying the same thing when asked to define “marriage: “I believe that marriage is the union between a man and a woman. Now for me as a Christian, it is also a sacred union, God is in the mix.”
I’m sorry, but a lot of people have spewed filth and vitriol about Carrie Prejean for answering the question the same way as Barack Obama. That is wrong.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XMvviFbkf0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6K9dS9wl7U&feature=channel

I expect to see royalties for use of that quip… it’s only ethical.

Jennifer,
“Gays and lesbians are also not married”
Considering that this is a column on ethics, it does not behoove you to lie.
Considering that you consider yourself to be a “Christian”, it does not behoove you to bear false witness.
I have been legally married for more than 5 years now.
“they also cannot talk about the experience of marriage”
Sorry, Jennifer, but I can speak with some authority on the matter because of my experience. Please stop the lying for Christ. He doesn’t like it.