taylor swift

This is only my opinion and not the representation of Saintel Daily, LLC.

There seems to be a blurry line these days when it comes to politics and celebrities.  Whether they’re actors, musicians, athletes, former athletes or other celebrities, everyone seems to be taking a stand.  Most recently, it’s Taylor Swift.  Over the weekend she released a forceful statement in support of Tennessee Democrats in the upcoming midterm elections.  It’s drawing a mixed response on social media, but what we should point out the fact that the Republican candidate in Tennessee is a woman.  Swift seems torn about her decision to support a man, but because he’s a Democrat, she feels she has no choice.

You certainly can’t blame her.  I think a lot of women are in that boat right now.  It’s a hard fact, but women aren’t supporting other women unless they know that they will stand up for women’s rights.  Whether that’s abortion, sexual assault, or gender issues – women want to make sure that their voices are heard in Washington.  Swift states:

“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. Running for Senate in the state of Tennessee is a woman named Marsha Blackburn. As much as I have in the past and would like to continue voting for women in office, I cannot support Marsha Blackburn. “I will be voting for Phil Bredesen for Senate and Jim Cooper for House of Representatives. 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% on every issue, but we have to vote anyway.”

What’s interesting is that Blackburn had been a strong supporter of songwriters rights.  I guess that doesn’t matter if you don’t support other rights, which many (including myself) believe to be fundamental rights.

But the world?  Some took on a supportive stance, while others decided to pile on and say “what took so long?” Others decided to voice their opinion and suggest that celebrities should stay out of politics.  We heard this one with LeBron lately.  And my question is – why can’t athletes or musicians, or performers or celebrities have opinions on politics?  You might remember back in the early 2000s, the Dixie Chicks took a hard stand against George W. Bush.  And they got killed because of it.  Not literally, but they did receive death threats over their political stance.  Now we live in an age where George W. Bush looks like a saint, and we’re still not allowed to voice our concerns about the current administration?

Celebrities have a voice, and I think that they should use it to try to make the world a better place.  I’m not saying that they have to, but I think that they should.  That’s why I’m supportive of Swift’s stance on politics.  It just so happens that I agree with her, but that’s not always the case.  I think that people are tired (and frankly scared) of what’s going on in Washington and the only way to put a stop to it is to vote.  Which is the message that Swift is conveying.  She’s also telling us who she is voting for.  Maybe that will persuade some other voters to do the same, but the message is – get out and vote.