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Paul Newman once stated that being an actor need not diminish your activism for causes that you support. Thus, because you have become famous you don’t give up your rights as a citizen. True enough. Actors and celebrities have a right to make their political views known, however uninformed they might be.
Enduring Influence?
During the hearings conducted in 1947 by the House Committee on Un-American Activities, movie stars, including Humphrey Bogart and his wife Lauren Bacall, as well as a host of others traveled Washington to air their displeasure with Committee. These individuals were well within their rights and in many instances had reasonable arguments.
Today, we are beset with celebrities of all kinds, particularly rock stars but also internet influencers, who have large followings. No one likely has a larger following than Taylor swift. She is among the most recognizable people on the planet. She’s an international superstar, one of the greatest of them all if you count box office revenues, recordings sold, and the number of committed, zealous Swifties. Her ability to maintain vigorous fan support is well documented.
Taylor Swift did not go to college but she is highly intelligent and throughout her career has made statements which reflect her intelligence, certainly in her own field of music and, on occasion, in relation to business, human affairs, and positive thinking.
The question arises however: do we pay attention to the political views of such people? Does Taylor Swift have anything viable to say in the political arena such that others should take heed? My take on this is no. Allow me to explain.
The Smartest Person I’ve Ever Met
Throughout grammar school, junior high school, and high school I had a very good friend, with whom I hung out on many occasions. I’ll call him Phil. We’re still in touch at least monthly. Phil is probably the smartest person I’ve ever met. He became our class president, student council president, and valedictorian. He was adept at all forms of math, English composition, French, physics, chemistry, and other academic disciplines.
Phil went on to Rensselaer Polytechnical Institute for a science degree and then Cornell for a fellowship and Ph.D. in biochemistry. Thereafter, he became the head of a world-renowned research and development health laboratory located in the Midwest.
On matter small and large, Phil has much to say, much of it insightful. Yet, when it comes to politics he is a derelict. While he is as intelligent a person as you’ll ever find, politically speaking is bereft of logic. He believes that anyone who voted for Trump or intends to vote for Trump in the forthcoming election is twisted.
He has voted Democrat his whole life and fancies himself as a liberal and probably a progressive. He’s okay with multimillions of gate-crashers invading our borders. He thinks that Biden has been good for the economy and world affairs. He believes that children should be able to choose their own sex. I could go on, but you get the picture.
Everyone Has an Opinion
As to Taylor Swift – unquestionably she’s entitled to her opinion, but in politics does she profoundly influence anyone? Recently, a survey indicated that perhaps 8% of her fans are influenced by her political views, while double that number are repelled by them. Hence Swift’s endorsement of Harris has had a negative effect.
This development is heartwarming to Republicans as Kamala Harris is unqualified to be president, let alone vice president. How was she ever elected to the senate? Left to her own devices, she cannot speak coherently for more than a couple minutes and then breaks down into ridiculous word salads.
When asked how she would deal with inflation (that she and Joe Biden actually caused) she discusses what it was like when she was growing up and her family didn’t have all that they might have. She did not answer the question and in general she does not answer questions. She deflects. She dances around the periphery. She offers non -convincing anecdotes and says nothing related to the original question.
Silence is An Option
To Taylor Swift and other celebrities who have voiced their opinions on the forthcoming election, go for it. Seek to influence as many people as you can. In reality, you’re not going to have much of an impact. As with Taylor Swift, you might end up having a negative impact. If you realize that this is so, maybe, just maybe, you’ll want to keep silent.
Another Democrat Supporting Liberal Celeberty fitting in with the Status Qou
I do not think with my dick, so the answer in my case is NO ~
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Who here remembers Tom Swifties?
Are we.living in an era of Taylor Swifties?
“Get in the back of the boat!” Said Tom, sternly.
“I’m voting for Kamala.” Said Taylor, slavishly.
I am continually shocked at people’s lack of intellectual curiosity, tendency to go with fads, groupthink, celebrity worship and a general herd mentality. Democrats are actually smart about this, they realize that this is the condition of the majority of people and tap into it. On the bright side, there is an awakening in progress, and when it reaches a certain magnitude the herd will tip to our favor.
Swift just endorsed Kamala. Others can’t stop with only that.
Some celebrities can’t remain silent when it comes to Trump. De Nero could not stop saying he wanted to punch Trump in the face, Madonna couldn’t prevent herself from saying she wanted to blow up the White House and several others who couldn’t stop saying how much harm they wished on him.
Why do they do this? Mostly I think it’s to draw attention to themselves. Look at me, my TDS is bigger than yours.
If Swift truly sways anyone to vote for a particular candidate then she ends up being just another social media influencer. But seriously who decides to vote for a politician based on any celebrity endorsement? You shouldn’t vote as if this is equivalent to high school groupthink and you want to please the cool kids to fit in. You should vote based on how the issues personally affect you and nothing else.
Given the choice between Taylor Swift’s left breast and her right, I vote for her right. ~
Maybe I am just too old, but I do know a considerable amount about music, from (older) pop, to folk, to classical, having performed in operas as a boy soprano, and having played guitar for 40 years, or so. Having watched several of Swift’s music videos, I am left wondering “why the cult status?” Yes, she is tall, statuesque, and pretty, but her voice is certainly nothing special, and has a kind of little girl quality–she certainly is no Celine Dion, for example. Or even, God help us, a Cher. And the songs I heard were not particularly compelling
or musically interesting. Maybe it’s just marketing. Or maybe I am too old.
She wrote relatively better songs when she was a teen than Dolly Parton don’t d when SHE was a teen. I thought of her then as a return to form for Country music.
Sadly, she went the teenybopper route. A waste of talent
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As for her voice, I have heard worse. But if she bothered to write genuine Country songs, her voice would have been a cut above those whose music disc releases serve as demos for singers with better voices.
Taylor Swift is probably the most successful entrepreneur in the history of the music industry. Whether it is all advice from top shelf advisors or not, her Harris support, just like her LGBTQXYZ support, is a business calculation. It will garner Harris some votes. Hopefully, as the author opines, it will be a net loss.
If she has influence, and I believe that she does, it will be with young female voters. You know, that bunch that put Biden/Harris in office in 2020.
Damn the 19th
Actually I find her repulsive not influential.
Can the bar get any lower than an endorsement from Taylor Swift whose fan base is primarily teeny bop girls who cannot vote, let alone think for themselves? Their mothers, however, might be a different story….
The Answer: No.