Hooray for free speech
Published: May 10, 2009
Kudos to Joseph D. Snodgrass, of Stuarts Draft, for his support of free speech (“A crown of thorns rewards free speech,” April 23).
Miss California was exactly correct in stating her opinion against gay marriage (it was her opinion, no more, no less). It is guaranteed in the First Amendment that we, the people of the United States, should express our opinion freely and openly (morally, we should not hurt anyone else and we should keep our language clean and polite).
Mr. Snodgrass is no less a loving U.S. citizen than the people John F. Kennedy wrote about in “Profiles in Courage” or Thomas Paine, who instigated the American Revolution with his pamphlet, “Common Sense.” The ones who plan, produce and narrate Miss America should give as much attention to sagacity as they do showmanship.
Kathryn Bass
Stuarts Draft
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Actually, Ms. Bass, to clarify, this incident you and Mr. Snodgrass have addressed, does not have any connection to the Miss America Pageant. It occurred during the Miss USA Pageant, which is an entirely separate contest and one has nothing to do with the other.
This is a common misconception and many people confuse the two, but the fundamental difference is that Miss America is a non-profit, community-service based organization; whereas Donald Trump directly “owns” the Miss USA and Miss Universe Pageants for his own financial gain. That is why he is making sure he is getting his share of the attention that this incident has generated.
In case you are not aware, the controversy over Miss California USA (her official title) has escalated far beyond what occurred on TV that night and in the next few days afterward. In fact, there are reportedly two press conferences scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, one by her state organization and one by Mr. Trump, in which her “fate” will be announced. The assumption is that she will be losing her title.
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