I don’t typically pay atten- tion to Miss America pageants, but the news about the winner this year caught my attention. Nina Davuluri won the crown and is the first Indian- American to win the title. I think this is great news. If you ask me, this sort of change happened a little late in the game, since it was the 87th pageant. But better late than never, I suppose.
For too long, the winners of the pageant have had a cookie- cutter image. It was only 30 years ago that Vanessa Williams, the first African-American to win the title, won the crown as Miss New York. It’s about time that the typi- cal Miss America image was changed once again and that the pageant embraced more diversity.
America is supposed to be “the melting pot” and more recently referred to as a “salad bowl,” where many different cul- tures integrate and combine like a salad.
This is the image that America conveys and what is supposed to separate us from the rest.
It shocked me that people showed disapproval with rude comments through social media saying things like “If you’re Miss America, you should have to be American.”
Come on, people, get with the times.
She IS American. This IS America. Land of the free, home of the brave. You get the idea.
Davuluri was born in New York. If you are born in America, you are American. It is that simple. People on social media sites said ignorant things referring to her as a terrorist and that it’s not right to crown her so soon after Sept. 11. People really need to get their facts straight before they judge. With our slow but steady prog- ress in embracing diversity, why is it that something like this still brings some sort of shock value?
Davuluri’s victory made his- tory and is a small, but valuable step in the progress of diversity in America. This is the way America works, and if this bothers you, I would suggest that you build a bridge and get over it.
