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Salah satu contoh kasusnya ketika diva pop Taylor Swift mengunggah konten politik di akun Instagram personalnya pada Selasa (9/10/2018) lalu.

Ia secara terang-terangan mengemukakan dukungan untuk dua politikus Demokrat asal Tennessee. Masing-masing adalah Phil Bredesen untuk masuk Senat dan Jim Cooper untuk masuk Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat.

Berkat unggahan Taylor Swift tersebut, pendaftaran pemilih (voter registration) menunjukkan peningkatan signifikan. Setidaknya begitu menurut lembaga layanan publik Vote.org.

“Kami menerima 65.000 pendaftaran dalam waktu 24 jam setelah unggahan Taylor Swift,” kata Director of Communications Vote.org, Kamari Guthrie.

Untuk memberikan konteks, selama ini jumlah pendaftaran pemilih hanya 6.000-an per hari. Artinya, unggahan Taylor Swift berdampak hampir 11 kali lipat.

“Terima kasih Taylor Swift,” ujar Kamari Guthrie.

Unggahan sang diva pop dianggap tepat waktu. Pasalnya, tenggat untuk pendaftaran pemilih ditutup sesaat setelah unggahan itu tersebar di ranah maya.

Namun, apa yang membuat Taylor Swift akhirnya bersuara untuk sektor politik? Jika dilihat dari rekam jejaknya selama ini, ia tak pernah lantang menyuarakan pilihan politik.

 

 

 

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I’m writing this post about the upcoming midterm elections on November 6th, in which I’ll be voting in the state of Tennessee. In the past I’ve been reluctant to publicly voice my political opinions, but due to several events in my life and in the world in the past two years, I feel very differently about that now. I always have and always will cast my vote based on which candidate will protect and fight for the human rights I believe we all deserve in this country. I believe in the fight for LGBTQ rights, and that any form of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender is WRONG. I believe that the systemic racism we still see in this country towards people of color is terrifying, sickening and prevalent. 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. Her voting record in Congress appalls and terrifies me. She voted against equal pay for women. She voted against the Reauthorization of the 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. She also believes they should not have the right to marry. These are not MY Tennessee values. 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. So many intelligent, thoughtful, self-possessed people have turned 18 in the past two years and now have the right and privilege to make their vote count. But first you need to register, which is quick and easy to do. October 9th is the LAST DAY to register to vote in the state of TN. Go to vote.org and you can find all the info. Happy Voting! ????????????

A post shared by Taylor Swift (@taylorswift) on Oct 7, 2018 at 4:33pm PDT

“Ada beberapa kejadian di hidup saya selama dua tahun terakhir yang membuat saya tergerak untuk bersuara,” ia memberi penjelasan pada keterangan unggahannya di Instagram.

Poin yang ia tonjolkan adalah pentingnya memilih pemimpin yang menghargai perbedaan. Dalam hal ini bukan cuma perbedaan warna kulit semata, tetapi juga orientasi seksual, gender, dan sebagainya.

“Saya percaya bahwa rasisme yang sistemik dan masih berlaku hingga kini merupakan momok bagi kita semua,” kata dia, sebagaimana dihimpun KompasTekno, Kamis (11/10/2018), dari Gizmodo.

“Saya tak bisa memilih untuk seseorang tak mau berjuang demi harga diri semua warga Amerika, tak peduli warna kulit, gender, maupun orang yang mereka cintai,” ia menambahkan.

Baca juga: Google Tolak Pajang Iklan Kampanye Pemilu 2019 di Indonesia

Ia mengajak semua pengikutnya yang baru berumur 18 tahun dan pertama kali menggenggam hak pilih untuk tak menyia-nyiakan kesempatan.

Lantas, apakah pilihan Taylor Swift akan menang karena mendapat dukungan dari tokoh sebesar dia? Kita lihat saja nanti.