On Oct. 7, global pop-star Taylor Swift shook the nation with her post on Instagram. Taylor voiced her political opinions on the upcoming election in Tennessee that will be happening on Nov. 6. In the past, Swift has been silent on her political stance, but since America is now in shambles she knew now was the right time to say something.
Swift states her stance on LGBTQ rights and people of color: “I believe in the fight for LGBTQ rights, and that any form of discrimination is WRONG. I believe that systematic racism we still see in this country towards people of color is terrifying, sickening, and prevalent.” Swift’s views are problems that we still see today and need to be addressed by the government.
Swift also states that she is not going to be backing Marsha Blackburn, a Tennessean Republican running for the Senate. Swift argues her thoughts on Blackburn stating: “She voted against equal pay for women. She voted against the Reauthorization of Violence Against Women Act, which attempts to protect women from domestic violence, stalking, and date rape. She believes businesses have a right to refuse service to gay couples…” The list goes on and on; Taylor knows her facts on the candidates. She encouraged every single one of us to educate ourselves on the candidates to vote for those who closely represent our values just as she did.
This post came with a lot of support as well as backlash from celebrities and the media. Many Republicans believe that Swift shouldn’t have spoken up about her voting Democrat, while others believe that Swift made the right choice for voicing her opinions and believe that this may make a change because the amount of young people that have voted in the past is astonishingly low. Since her post, according to Vote.org, there had been an increase in new-voter registration of 65,000 in the 24 hours since Swift’s Instagram post. Taylor has inspired fans to vote which will hopefully make a difference come Nov. 6. Although Donald Trump likes Swift’s music “25 percent less,” I think we can all say we like her 25 percent more by motivating those to go out and vote no matter which party you may choose.
Taylor Swift wants YOU to vote because every vote matters. We are in control of our future not our parents or grandparents, so listen to the Queen and go out and vote Nov. 6th.