Susan Boyle has inspired millions of people with her willingness to brave ridicule in pursuit of her dream.

Oh, sure, it may have been a staged moment, but that is not Susan's fault, and it does not detract an ounce from her triumph: Middle-aged, plump women without beauty queen looks (Yes, a demographic for which I have a certain affinity!) who dare to get up in front of millions and risk public embarrassment are not so common. Susan's triumph is real and heartwarming to us all.

But I have a very real heart, as well, for another dramatic and inspiring act of courage that just took place on the national stage, this time by a woman who in one sense is Susan Boyle's twin and in another sense her opposite.

Carrie Prejean is very young and very beautiful. She spoke for millions of other Americans, including young Americans whose voices are being ignored, when she said she doesn't think other states should follow Vermont's lead on gay marriage:

"Well, I think it's great that Americans are able to choose one or the other. . . . 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, and that's how I think it should be between a man and a woman. Thank you very much."

The pageant audience cheered Carrie's answer for its obvious genuineness and for her equally obvious decency and civility.

In the latest CBS News poll, just a third of Americans agree with Perez Hilton about gay marriage. (Both Vermont and California already had civil unions.) Even among what CBS News called "young adults" (18- to 45-year-olds), only 41 percent support gay marriage. Among even younger folks (18- to 29-year-olds), an August 2008 Pew poll found just 54 percent support gay marriage, while 37 percent opposed and 9 percent were silent or uncertain.

In a split-second before a huge audience, Carrie had to choose between the truth and the tiara. In an act of grace, she chose to surrender the title rather than her beliefs.

Here's another difference between Susan Boyle and Carrie Prejean. For Susan, the ridicule is over and the celebration launched. For Carrie, the attacks have just begun.

Perez Hilton, the "celebrity" blogger and pageant judge, proudly proclaimed himself the YouTube moment of the pageant. His is the new face for gay marriage in this country. Here is what he said about Miss California:

"She's a dumb b-tch. . . . I could not believe when she became first runner-up. If that girl would have won Miss USA . . . I would have gone up on stage I sh-t you not I would have gone up on stage, snatched that tiara off her head and run out the door."

I don't believe the response hatred, ridicule, name-calling by Perez Hilton is supported by most gay people or by most gay marriage supporters. But, sadly, it is increasingly the visceral and public response of the gay marriage movement to anyone who disagrees with its views.

Thanks, Carrie. America can and will do better than the parody of Hollywood values on display Sunday night.

Maggie Gallagher's column is distributed by Universal Press Syndicate.