In the age of social media, we’re pretty accustomed to celebrities chiming in with their opinions on a range of topics. Recently, rapper Cardi B posted a series of videos condemning President Donald Trump for the government shutdown. She shamed him for leaving thousands of government employees without pay for over a month and defended previous administrations’ government shutdowns as being over more worthy causes than a border wall. The videos went viral, and people on both sides of the political spectrum commented on them. Not everyone loved it but, of course, her fans praised her for using her social platform to push an agenda.
It’s almost inevitable at this point that if a celebrity can articulate their thoughts on a complex topic, political or otherwise, they’re touted as the voice that will save us all. In some cases, they’re even urged to run for political office, like when people rallied around the idea of Oprah Winfrey running for president in the wake of the Obama administration. We view celebrities as saviors of sorts because we think their follower count makes them more powerful than we are. It’s true they have the opportunity to influence millions of people. They have the ability to encourage the uninformed to become informed and the unenthusiastic to become enthusiastic about an issue.
But how productive is it to give celebrities this much credit, especially in situations concerning the govermnet? It’s not at all. While it’s great celebrities use their voices for what they believe in, pressuring celebrities to save us from all the issues plaguing the country, and the planet, detracts from our individual responsibility to help solve these issues. It might not seem like it, but in order for problems like climate change and immigration to be solved, every single person needs to be engaged in making change. Your vote, your voice and your opinion matter. Just as much as Cardi B’s. Just as much as Oprah’s.
We’ve become the type of society that is okay with sitting back and letting others take the reins. That’s not to say we’re lazy, or we don’t care about progressing as a society. We’ve just come to accept the notion that those who have more of a platform can make change if we just lift them up and encourage them to keep going. And yes, we should definitely continue to do that. However, we shouldn’t expect their advocacy to solve everything, and we certainly shouldn’t substitute their advocacy for our own.
By getting our hopes up each time a celebrity is candid with their thoughts on any controversial subject, we’re setting ourselves up for disappointment. They’re still just normal people, who are allowed to have an opinion and voice it, just like the rest of us. Cardi B might have a handle on politics, but regardless, she’s only one vote. Each person, no matter their level of fame, can only do so much. We live in a democratic country, and even politicians can only do as much as we the people are willing to let them. It’s when we come together for causes that we start to see change.
Katherine Campione is a UF journalism senior. Her column normally appears on Wednesday.
Offset, left, and Cardi B arrive at the 61st annual Grammy Awards at the Staples Center on Sunday, Feb. 10, 2019, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
