There was a new celebrity to walk into the political arena just recently, and when she walked, she made waves.
Taylor Swift, via an Instagram post, spoke out for the very first time about her political opinions and joined a long list of celebrities endorsing candidates for upcoming races in American politics.
Breaking a historic silence that had left many of her fans crazed for any response, the famous singer-songwriter backed Tennessee Democratic candidates Phil Bredesen for Senate and Jim Cooper for the House of Representatives. This surprising and extensive post on Oct. 7 left many of her followers, including me, in shock.
“In the past I’ve been reluctant to publicly voice my political opinions, but due to several events in my life and in the world in the past two years, I feel very differently about that now,” said Swift’s post.
She goes on to explain that her change of heart was caused largely by human rights concerns. She lists the LGBTQ community, people of color and women as groups that she is worried are not being properly represented.
“I cannot vote for someone who will not be willing to fight for dignity for ALL Americans, no matter their skin color, gender or who they love,” Swift wrote.
One particular politician she has zeroed in on as failing to defend these rights is Marsha Blackburn, the incumbent Tennessee Senator. She gives many reasons why Blackburn’s record scares her. These include Blackburn voting against women’s equal pay and voting against the Reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, which was an act that was an attempt to provide protections against domestic violence, stalking and date rape for women. She also expressed beliefs that it should be legal for a company to deny service to gay couples and declared that gay couples should not have the right to marry. These issues are some that Swift claims to feel strongly about and they are what will dictate her voting decisions.
“These are not MY Tennessee values,” Swift posted. “Please, please educate yourself on the candidates running in your state and vote based on who most closely represents your values. For a lot of us, we may never find a candidate or party with whom we agree 100 percent on every issue, but we have to vote anyway.”
One of the overarching themes of her post is the need to get as many people out to vote as possible. She points out that many people have turned 18 since the last vote and that they need to register to vote for their voices to be heard. This comment is extremely applicable to both her audience, a largely younger crowd and the political field in general, where the youth vote can be crucial if properly motivated.
The effect of Swift’s post has been wide-reaching and apparent. CNN reported an estimated 65,000 new voters registered within 24 hours of Taylor’s post. When put in the context of Taylor Swift’s 112 million followers on her Instagram account and the 2.1 million likes on that post alone, it is no wonder that her words reached so many people.
Swift’s sizable influence has been rocking the world. She has made news across a ton of platforms and has used her voice to change the world. Her singing touches so many of our hearts, and sometimes her words do, too.
By Landon Allison, Staff Writer
allisolj17@bonaventure.edu
