I think we all need to be reminded of the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States (see below). We all have the right to express ourselves, the right to protest and the right to practice our religions. These are just a few of the precious rights we have that make our country great. I expressed a similar view in my blog post regarding the "tea parties". As much as those protests disgusted, especially since blatant racism was on display, I had to respect the fact that they had the RIGHT to protest. There were signs depicting President Obama as a shoe shine boy, along with many other offensive phrases and images. I still had to respect the fact that in this country they had the right to gather and protest as long as no direct harm was done to anyone. Now, fast forward a week later and the freedom of speech is under attack.
I admit I didn't watch the Miss America Pageant, nor do I have any interest in this event, but I heard more than I wanted to about it due to the incident with Miss California. In case you haven't watched the news in the last few days, during the question segment one of the judges, celebrity Internet blogger Perez Hilton asked Miss California (sorry I do not remember her name) what was her opinion of gay marriage since there are currently four States that have gay marriage rights. It was a loaded question from someone who had an agenda. She then answered honestly and with conviction. Some of her answer was incorrect as was stressed in the media, but her point was that she was not raised to believe in gay marriage and that marriage should be between a man and a woman. She could have given a politically correct answer but she chose to speak from her heart. She knew it was going to cost her the crown but she had the courage to do so anyway. Perez Hilton has since admitted that her answer swayed the judges and that she would have likely won if she had given an opposite view.
What is wrong with this picture? When did we lose the right to express ourselves? When did we lose the right to practice our faith? When did we lose the right to choose our individual moral path? People need to realize that for Christians gay marriage goes beyond a civil rights issue. For us it is a moral issue. I understand that there are many Christians that are now embracing gay marriage and lifestyle, but for all the other Christians who choose to stick with their convictions on the issue based on the Word of God, have they no rights??
This young woman is being persecuted all over the media, even from journalists who are only supposed to report the news, not make their personal biases known. I applaud her courage and as Christians we must ask ourselves do we have the courage to do the same? When given the opportunity to speak the truth regardless of the backlash will we? That's my question for the day. We need to think about this because it seems more and more each day we are slowly losing our religious rights. Whether you agree or disagree with Miss California's answer, we must respect the fact that she had the RIGHT to answer that question as she chose. She didn't make a hateful statement. She did not wish harm on homosexuals. She simply disagreed with an issue. God forbid.
Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
