I think there is a decent chance that soon after I write under this debate title, the editors at Helium will have changed the spelling of the word “obsolete” from “obselete.” Funny stuff from a place that prides itself on writing technically correct copy. Perhaps the word obsolete has become obselete here.

I don’t watch beauty pageants. They have become the proving ground for ego and narcissism. Exclusionary and absolutely devoid of substance, beauty pageants have become a symptom of a society that places extreme value on superficial beauty. Beauty pageants have become the pinnacle of labeling and judging people on a ridiculous set of criteria and opinions that have little or no real value. Why someone would subject themselves or their children to that type of scrutiny is thought provoking.

Our society has created a world where we worship wealth and beauty. Artificial stimuli. We live in a world of extreme makeovers where just being yourself is no longer acceptable. The covers of magazines are adorned with young and beautiful women with perfect skin, slender bodies, complete with airbrushed and photo shopped flaws and imperfections removed. We have an entire cottage industry of surgeons and dermatologists dedicated to creating the perfect lips, faces, and breasts. Removing wrinkles and fat. Perfect teeth. Leaving those poor souls who cannot afford those things, jealous and wanting, perhaps feeling bitter or victimized.

We attach those subliminal messages to our preoccupation with superficial beauty. You can’t win the pageant without a boob job, tummy tuck, or a perfect derriere. You won’t attract a trophy man. Your career will skyrocket or crash depending on the outcome. Perhaps you could be a runway model, eating one slice of apple a day for the next 15 years. You will be glamorous, travel the world, wear the latest clothing and designs. They are simply illusions and fantasies, like white knights, picket fences, and happily ever after.

Beauty pageants are a symptom of a world where we must judge others. Asking vague and rhetorical questions of young people under extreme stress, perhaps clothed only in in a bathing suit or an evening gown, and then because we are all so uniquely qualified to judge others-we render a decision on the intelligence and poise of a young lady based on a single answer or two. Heaven forbid that a contestant answers a question truthfully and the judges don’t like the answer. Perhaps she will be stripped of her “title.”

Like so many things we do, beauty pageants are a symptom of a planet and a race of beings gone insane. We waste ungodly amounts of money promoting events like beauty pageants while people suffer and starve to death. We create a competitive world of female “one ups man ship” and we diminish those as “less than” who cannot compete. We exclude and label those “plain Janes.” We are a world that values beauty of above all else. Is that the message? Is that who we are and what we were designed to do?

To watch beauty pageants and contribute to this insanity and thus television ratings (another judging tool) is to participate in this brand of insanity and foolishness. I simply can’t do it any longer. I want and hope to value all human beings on a different set of criteria. My opinion of beauty pageants is simply my own and I certainly don’t want to diminish those that think they are worthwhile entertainment. But if beauty pageants became obsolete or vanished altogether, I don’t think that would be a much of a loss. Some of us would hardly note their passing.