We've all seen the video of the poor beauty pageant contestant from South Carolina who spouted the gibberish about "soma people don't have maps and our U.S. Americans should help people in South Africa and Iraq and such as . . ." when asked about why Americans couldn't find the U.S. on a map. Pitiful!
Any young woman who enters a beauty pageant should spend a little time learning to articulate her thoughts -- that is, if she has any. The downfall of many of these girls is that they bend over backwards to try to appear intelligent, and in doing so, some of them expose how terribly ignorant they truly are. Miss South Carolina would have been better off if she'd honestly said, "Heck if I know!" The judges would probably have given her points for a quick wit.
Nicole Kelly is representing Iowa in the Miss America Pageant. She was born without her left forearm. She is a very attractive young woman, but she's fallen into the same trap that many newscasters, preachers, and other public speakers have fallen into -- they over-correct their English. The biggest offense in this category is "Between you and I . . ." and "She told him and I . . ." Don't be afraid to use "me." It is a legitimate word! The other big offense in this category is adding an adverbial "ly" to an adjective. I guess people think that makes them sound like scholars.
Miss Iowa says, ". . .I have the intelligence, I have the ability and all the things that Miss America needs to have." But I question how intelligent she is when she goes on to say, "I'm proud to represent those who look differently." Oh -- do you suppose she and those she represents don't use their eyes in the same way you and I use ours? To her credit, Miss Iowa did use the word correctly in an earlier statement: "I'm not here because I look different." My guess is she instinctively uttered the earlier statement without thinking about it, and her instincts were on target.
By the way, my prediction is that Miss Iowa will win the pageant. It would be so un-pc if she didn't.
"Miss America contestant refuses to let herself be defined by disability." The Dallas Morning News; September 10, 2013; p. 4A.
Note to Eva Dickey of The Paris News: I read your column on 9/11. FYI - smoke billows - cows bellow.
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I predict you are correct about Miss Iowa's win. It reminds me of a presidential election not so long ago. It would be unacceptable to NOT elect a black man as president, regardless of his lack of citizenship, morals, or qualifications!
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