In its transformation to move from measuring women in bathing suits, to celebrating women who are change makers, Miss America has hitched itself to a problem that if solved, might create an identity crisis for the organization.
During the second night of preliminary competition, a candidate was asked about student debt and what should be done to alleviate it.
My answer of course is cancel it, then offer free tuition for state schools. That's a systemic solution to a systemic problem.
Her answer, however, was not even close.
In fact, in my count, none of the systemic issues identified in this year's class had systemic solutions. They were all based on triage for our most acute cases. Fight childhood hunger… volunteer at a soup kitchen. Improve literacy…use this curriculum. There was a lot “we can change the world one person at a time."
And while this sort of triage thinking is necessary while folks are trying to navigate injustice, most systemic issues need to be addressed through policy. Working at a soup kitchen helps out individuals in need today, but what we really need is policy to end food insecurity. Literacy is vital to success in our world, and a curriculum isn't going to address the fact that our poorest schools are woefully underfunded.
I was really hoping to hear some of this deep analysis, and I was disappointed. Not that their work is disappointing, I just was quietly hoping for more.
The candidate who got the scholarship question was put in a real pickle. The best answer is my answer; it really is. And, if you don’t think we can afford it, check out our Department of Defense’s annual budget and how much we earmark for war or the bank and automotive bailouts of 2008. It’s the best answer.
Her answer went something to the effect of “we solve the student debt problem by investing in programs like Miss America.” It was the best answer she could have given in the twenty seconds she had without doing some really stellar mental gymnastics.
In all serious though, where would the cancellation of student debt leave Miss America, the largest scholarship program for women? If women didn't need scholarship dollars, do we even need Miss America or can we ditch it like Miss America ditched the bathing suit competition?
I strongly considered leaving this as a rhetorical question, because no, we don’t NEED Miss America like we NEED to end poverty. However, it has done a lot of good over the years to bring social awareness to important issues and it has turned out some amazing activists, change makers and artists, which we do need in this world.
And, we do NEED programs like Miss America that build up female scholars. Girl Scouts, 4H, Girls Inc., Girls on the Run are all programs designed to do this same thing and although they might not all be as competitive as Miss America and the local competitions that lead to it, competition is a good motivator for a lot of folks to better themselves.
And to end poverty, we do need Miss America candidates to build coalitions, not just create a new program. My advice to those who are working on issues like child poverty, education, mental health, and physical abuse, get together and attack the root causes that create these conditions…like school debt. Then go after the next systemic issue. If anyone, Miss America candidates are the leaders to do it.
And maybe that scholarship money could be used to simply honor the talent and scholarship of Miss America herself, or to fund her social impact initiative that needs some scholars to carry it out!