{"id":19752,"date":"2017-09-27T15:36:44","date_gmt":"2017-09-27T19:36:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationalcenter.org\/?p=19752"},"modified":"2017-09-27T15:37:03","modified_gmt":"2017-09-27T19:37:03","slug":"miss-america-pageant-politics-worries-pivotal-past-contestant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationalcenter.org\/ncppr\/2017\/09\/27\/miss-america-pageant-politics-worries-pivotal-past-contestant\/","title":{"rendered":"Miss America Pageant Politics Worries Pivotal Past Contestant"},"content":{"rendered":"
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While the spotlight is currently on the politicization of the NFL and the chaos that liberal politics is bringing to the sports world, Project 21 is making sure that people understand liberal influences are similarly threatening the footlights of the Miss America pageant.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/a>In a new Washington Times <\/em>commentary<\/a>, Project 21 member Day Gardner<\/a> \u2013 a defining figure in pageant history \u2013 warns that the politicization of America\u2019s \u201cgirl next door\u201d could have a disastrous effect on the legacy of the Miss America Organization and its positive impact on our culture.<\/p>\n

Day was the first black contestant to make it to the Miss America semifinals, thus fully integrating the pageant in front of a live national audience.\u00a0 Within six years, the first black Miss America was crowned.<\/p>\n

Mentioning the struggles she overcame to get that far at that time, Day notes in the Times<\/em> that \u201c[r]ace is no longer an impediment.\u00a0 Politics, however, seems to be a new barrier to advancement.\u201d<\/p>\n

Day points out that current-events questions posed to semifinalists this year (not a part of the pageant in 1977, when she was Miss Delaware) were obviously crafted to allow for criticism of President Donald Trump.\u00a0 She also describes how abortion and same-sex marriage issues have mixed with pageant politics during previous years.<\/p>\n

More importantly, Day fears changing pageant priorities could diminish the title\u2019s prestige and the institution of Miss America:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

[T]he pageants of my day placed value in morals and tradition over a pretty face. \u00a0A good reputation, as Vanessa Williams found out, was a requirement to wear the tiara as the goodwill ambassador for young American women.<\/p>\n

This formula worked. \u00a0Over the years, the Miss America Organization raised millions for charity. \u00a0It created educational opportunities for women. \u00a0Former winners championed causes such as ending homelessness and domestic abuse as well as humanitarian causes around the world. \u00a0USA Today<\/em>\u00a0called it one of the last vestiges of true Americana.<\/p>\n

But I fear liberal pressures threaten the pageant\u2019s future. Andrew Breitbart noted that \u201cpolitics is downstream from culture,\u201d and the co-opting of Miss America appears well underway.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a lot to be lost by turning the pageant into a cultural playground of the radical left. \u00a0The Miss America title may someday no longer fit. \u00a0When will a divorcee demand to compete? \u00a0When will they drop gender roles altogether and open the pageant to those who choose their own gender or claim no gender whatsoever?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

To back up such an assertion, Day mentions how the liberal direction of the Girl Scouts in recent years has both tarnished the group\u2019s image and led to the creation of several alternatives.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe politicization of Miss America will only further polarize us,\u201d Day warns. \u00a0\u201cInstead, we should be embracing and celebrating our shared goals. \u00a0That is the role Miss America has played so well.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While the spotlight is currently on the politicization of the NFL and the chaos that liberal politics is bringing to the sports world, Project 21 is making sure that people understand liberal influences are similarly threatening the footlights of the Miss America pageant. In a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[74,36],"tags":[77],"yoast_head":"\nMiss America Pageant Politics Worries Pivotal Past Contestant - The National Center<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nationalcenter.org\/ncppr\/2017\/09\/27\/miss-america-pageant-politics-worries-pivotal-past-contestant\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"David Almasi\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationalcenter.org\/ncppr\/2017\/09\/27\/miss-america-pageant-politics-worries-pivotal-past-contestant\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationalcenter.org\/ncppr\/2017\/09\/27\/miss-america-pageant-politics-worries-pivotal-past-contestant\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"David Almasi\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationalcenter.org\/#\/schema\/person\/986101645c65e8d001dc8de54beb396d\"},\"headline\":\"Miss America Pageant Politics Worries Pivotal Past Contestant\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-09-27T19:36:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-09-27T19:37:03+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationalcenter.org\/ncppr\/2017\/09\/27\/miss-america-pageant-politics-worries-pivotal-past-contestant\/\"},\"wordCount\":479,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationalcenter.org\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationalcenter.org\/ncppr\/2017\/09\/27\/miss-america-pageant-politics-worries-pivotal-past-contestant\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.conservativeblog.org\/storage\/DayGardner.jpeg?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=1506524009490\",\"keywords\":[\"ConservativeBlog.org\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Blog\",\"Project 21\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationalcenter.org\/ncppr\/2017\/09\/27\/miss-america-pageant-politics-worries-pivotal-past-contestant\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nationalcenter.org\/ncppr\/2017\/09\/27\/miss-america-pageant-politics-worries-pivotal-past-contestant\/\",\"name\":\"Miss America Pageant Politics Worries Pivotal Past Contestant - 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