Thank you Martin Sheen. Thank you Patricia Heaton. Thank you Michael J. Fox. Thank you Lara Flynn Boyle. Thank you Dixie Chicks. Thank you 3 Doors Down.
All the actors and musicians we have listed above have chosen to stand up during this election season and make their political views known. Whether it be on the right or left, liberal or conservative, there are plenty more names that could be listed.
The past four years have awoken a dormant truth in the celebrity world.Unlike Charles Barkley and other public figures in the mid 1990s, most now realize that they are targeted by young people as role models, whether they like it or not.
That inherent responsibility of public figures has been taken seriously, and the respective messages that they have tried to send to Americans over the past few months will definitely register in voting booths throughout the country today.
Maybe the most powerful effort by a public figure to air his views for the American audience is Eminem’s newest music video for the song “Mosh.”
Currently the #1 requested video on mtv.com, in the song Eminem asks his generation to, “assemble our own army to disarm this Weapon of Mass Destruction that we call our president…and mosh for the future of our next generation.”
Famous folk have lended their time and faces to non-partisan campaigns as well. P-Diddy created the “Vote or Die” campaign midway through this summer. Appeals like this, along with “Rock the Vote,” have targeted the 18-25 age group for registration like no political action campaign before.
Conservative rocker Ted Nugent has also contributed to public service announcements that have aired in the past few weeks. Along with other famous faces Nugent left his beliefs off-set, simply urging Americans to take part in the most democratic of all democratic processes.
Should we rely entirely on the opinions of famous people when trying to form our own political views? Of course not. Each prospective voter should build off their initial celebrity starting points by consulting the barren facts for every issue, candidate or war before coming to their own personal conclusion.
Each voice, no matter how many #1 songs they’ve churned out, no matter how many box-office hits they’ve starred in, all register the same on election day. Every student on this campus who votes today will count just as much as Michael Moore, or Bill O’Reilly. Even George W. Bush and John Kerry are on the same level as a college student in the voting booth.
If you’re registered to vote, get out there today and become an active member in this nation’s democracy. P-Diddy will thank you for it.
