Belated thoughts on Miss California

There is something called social grace. Yes, even in an age of nasty anonymous comments and a general "look at me being culturally subversive!" attitude, manners and gracefully handling controversial matters are important. One would expect someone who deliberately thrusts herself in the public eye to know this. Some confuse social grace with a lack of conviction (or vice versa), which is precisely what is happening right now with the Miss California incident. She could have clearly conveyed her opinion in a way that did not smack of ill-preparedness and/or general airheadedness stereotypical of pageant contestants. Miss California did not offer any support for her answer other than an insistent 'this is how I was raised.' A better answer, and one more fitting of a participant in a contest of all things feminine - would have quickly hit a few of the arguments against same-sex marriage, then closed. Instead, she chose to stand there like a petulant child, give a poor and bumbling answer, then later have the audacity to claim that she lost her crown due to her opinion as opposed to the quality of the answer. Nothing in the way she answered the question warrants commendation, nor should someone who convinced the Miss California pageant organization to pay for her breast impants so she could stand on stage and stumble through a very fair question be held up as anything more than a pretty woman. Moreover, there is nothing particularly "brave" about expressing an opinion held by the majority of the United States. Tottering on high heels in a skimpy bikini on national television, however, definitely qualifies as bravery in my book!