"A Question of Sex and Marriage"

It's time to Break It Down!

So I am sailing along in an orbit that by now seems natural for me. In the hour or so before I set out to key another edition Break It Down, I mused; what would it be this week? As it is most days, I had yet to decide on a topic; but I was definitely leaning. The one issue I had been asked about more than any other in the week since the last blog was Piracy. Several friends and associates mentioned President Obama’s deft handling of the situation involving American Richard Phillips, Captain of the Maersk Alabama. One or two pointedly asked why I did not write about it last week or when and if I would. They almost had me.

Unless you have been under a rock or doing a Rip Van Winkle impersonation, you know Phillips as the victim of a kidnapping by Somali pirates off the Horn of Africa. After four tension-filled days, 3 kidnappers were killed simultaneously by Navy Seal snipers who lay hidden aboard the U.S. destroyer Bainbridge. A fourth pirate, estimated to be a mere 16 years old, had surrendered earlier.

President Obama has been widely hailed for his decisive actions in averting Phillip’s death at the hands of his captors. There is no question the President deserves a measure of credit in the resolution of this incident, for had disaster struck, he would surely have been blamed. But let’s just be clear; the Navy Seals were the heroes in this story. Laying in hiding, one hundred feet away in choppy seas, with one pirate aiming an AK-47 assault rifle at Captain Phillips, the Seals did what the crack sniper unit is trained to do. The delivered, while operating under immense pressure. In perfect harmony, they fired with split second timing, killing all three pirates, and would be assassins, simultaneously.

At first glance the Pirate story had it all; conflict, a hostage, foils, heroes, drama on the high seas, blood, and a made-for-a-movie happy ending. The only thing is this drama is far from over. There will likely still be numerous opportunities to write about the Somali pirates. Unfortunately!

On the surface, this week’s topic includes much more mundane fare. Though it was not at sea, there was drama, and I heard no accounts of spilled-blood, there were fights, or at least shouting, and threats of brawling.

Yes, I am going there! Front and center, bring on the Miss USA Pageant, or more pointedly, “the comment.” You know the one. But, I will address that in a more in-depth fashion later. For most folks, Beauty Pageants have gone the way of the dinosaur; that is they are extinct. Or at least the following, and high level of interest they once engendered is ensconced in a memory of a by-gone era.

I wear my bias on my sleeve, having never been a fan of the pageant phenomenon. Yes, I concede for the record, most dispatched the “beauty” adjective decades ago. Now many have adopted “scholarship” as the defining moniker of choice. But frankly, between, Miss America the oldest of the lot, Miss USA, Miss Teen America, Mrs. America, Miss World, And Miss Universe, and oh yeah do not forget, Miss, Miss Teen, Ms., and Mrs. Galaxy, who could really keep up with it all?

OK, so this is really not about the Pageant, which coincidentally, Miss North Carolina, Kristen Dalton won. This year’s 58th Edition was held at The Theatre of Performing Arts in Planet Hollywood, Las Vegas, Nevada.

I am obliged to tell you Kristen attended elementary and middle school (albeit briefly) in Concord and Cabarrus County, next door to Charlotte. Her family moved to Wilmington where she completed middle and high school, and she is now a senior at East Carolina University.

She competed against contestants from the 49 other states, and the District of Columbia. As the winner, Kristen will receive a year’s use of a New York apartment, a public relations team, a two-year scholarship at the New York Film Academy, and an undisclosed salary. She will also go to the Bahamas in August to compete in the Miss Universe Pageant. Not a bad recession package for a college senior.

Now you might think winning the Miss USA Pageant would have rendered Krissy the epicenter of pageant chatter, and propelled her to the top of the charts in popularity and general tongue-wagging. Alas, as often happens in the world of pageantry, a funny thing happened on the way to fame and notoriety; not humorously funny of course.

In this particular case, the Pageant runner-up, Carrie Prejean, Miss California managed, unintentionally, I surmise, to upstage the winner. The are innumerable movie takes centered on the undoing of a pageant contestant by an odd-ball, or at least unanticipated question, and a bad, sad, or perhaps just plan unartful answer.

Much of the post-pageant discourse speculated that Carrie’s response to a question about same-sex marriage sealed the deal for Kristen. Numerous wags on countless shows have weighed in on the contrived controversy. The question, posed by noted blogger and faux celeb, Perez Hilton, has amassed millions of Youtube hits, as has Ms. Prejean’s response. In an instant she was elevated to the status of the latest lightning rod for the debate on same-sex marriage.

Both supporters and detractors have lined up to consume as much air time as the networks, cables channels, and radio affiliates will allow. Newspapers, bloggers, and Internet news media are also in the fray as well. Just in case you were distracted and somehow managed, not only to miss the pageant, but the countless stories that sprung from it, here is a rough transcription of the exchange between Mr. Hilton and Ms. Prejean:

Mr. Hilton (Judge #8):

“Vermont recently became the 4th state to legalize same-sex marriage. Do you think every state should follow suit? Why or why not?”

Ms. Prejean (Ms. Cali):

“Well I think it’s great that Americans are able to choose one or the other. We live in land that you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite marriage. And you know what, in my country, and in my family, I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. No offense to anyone out there. But that’s how I was raised, and that’s how I think that it should be; between a man and a woman. Thank you.”

The entire exchange represented a scant 60 seconds in Youtube-time. Of course the resultant conversation has, as they say, gone viral. I am curious about whether this is a question most people, aside from the talking heads and their guests, spend a lot of time contemplating. Of course it did not start, nor will it end, with Perez and Carrie. That notwithstanding; humor me. Tell me what you think about this "Question of Sex and Marriage!"

I’m done; holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com/. A new post is published each Wednesday.

For more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post, consult the links below:

http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/ci_12159013

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-somalia-hijack-captain9-2009apr09,0,2171932.story

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/us_world/2009/04/12/2009-04-12_american_captain_richard_phillips_taken_hostage_freed_from_pirates.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miss_USA_2009

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/chi-miss-usa-0420apr20,0,694571.story

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/breaking/story/674366.html

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/entertainment/43268237.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miss_USA

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1172123/God-testing-faith-says-Miss-California-Perez-Hilton-calls-dumb-bitch-gay-marriage-row.html

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,517137,00.html

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30298051/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOa_9ftwlbM&NR=1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perez_Hilton

http://www.abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/Television/story?id=7381893&page=1