There’s something amiss about Miss California. Since the April 19 telecast, a storm has been a-brewin’ among the bloggerati over runner-up Carrie Prejean’s answer to a controversial question at the conclusion of the 2009 Miss USA Pageant.

When asked by eccentric celeb-blogger Perez Hilton her thoughts on gay marriage, Prejean gracefully replied, “I think in my country, in my family, I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. No offense to anybody out there, but that’s how I was raised.”

The reaction on Hilton’s face told the story.

And that was that. The second his jaw dropped to the floor beneath him, a Wikipedia entry was made available, several clips of Prejean’s comments were put on YouTube and columnists everywhere took notice.

Hilton, openly gay himself, took immediate objection to the beauty queen’s answer the following day on his blog. “She lost not because she doesn’t believe in gay marriage,” he said, adding, “she lost because she’s a dumb b—-!” Clearly, maturity flows through his veins far quicker than blood, oxygen or any semblance of logic ever could.

In an age where honesty comes at a premium, Prejean should be commended for her openness and bravery in answering the question. Perez, on the other hand, has made a career out of being a phony. Earmarked by his dyed hair and wishy-washy demeanor, the sharp-dressed man makes his name by inciting anger in the world of celebrity and ‘outing’ other gay actors and actresses, all behind the veil of a pseudonym. His real name? Mario Armando Lavandeira, Jr.

Many others don’t agree with Prejean’s comments, but what’s remarkable is how prone to hatred those who do disagree have been. A perusing of several popular message boards offers little in the way of a harmonious outcome: one user called the should-be Miss USA an “intolerant bigot.”

That’s about the only one we’re allowed to print. Yeah, it has gotten pretty ugly.

Americans aren’t always going to agree with each other; with a population of over 300 million, that’s a given. But teaching people to side with the popular viewpoint instead of the honest one will inevitably do more harm than good.

Gay marriage just so happened to be the spark which set off a majority liberal audience. Yet lying to appease that crowd would have set an even worse example to those watching than Prejean’s original comments.

“You can have any color car you want, so long as it’s black,” quipped auto inventor Henry Ford decades ago. Somehow that famous quote is still relevant to today’s world. Just replace “color car” with ‘belief’ and “black” with ‘popular.’