Must a Performer Assert a Political Stance?

Somewhere, somehow, some of our notions about the secrecy of ballots has been turned on its head. Whether you consider voting to be a right or a privilege, our Founding Fathers have allowed for the secret ballot.  Or, at least, people can cast ballots secretly should they choose to do so.

For popular figures this somehow seems to be different, at least according to 2018 thinking. For example, a recent article took Taylor Swift to task for not revealing her 2016 Presidential election choice, despite her claim to feminism and the presence of an unpopular Presidential candidate, at least in some women's views. Surprisingly, this topic which seemingly stretched it a bit was picked up by others needing something to write about; much like the issue of Taylor Swift's navel a while back. 

However, the consequences of all choices to disclose one's opinion or vote are not equal. For people in some economic circumstances, this can have real-life consequences; sometimes bad. Remember the Dixie Chicks? Well, the lead singer Natalie Maines criticized President George W. Bush on stage, and doing that greatly impacted attendance at their shows or sales of their music. You may wonder why they're no longer heard of. That may be one of the reasons why. Of course, they were also highly overrated, as well; and country music performers naturally come and go.

Haven't boycotts of Chick Fil-A or other companies in response to political position taking meant anything? The fact is, we are strongly divided as a nation; and this is coupled with a lot of intolerance. Therefore, taking any political side is likely to be a poor move, economically. No matter what stance you take, it will piss some people off. Frankly, that also applies to my choice of occupation. 

Also, it could be that a performer might personally decide that getting involved in politics is not an effective use of her or his time and energies.

And -- surprise! Maybe Taylor Swift might simply have enough respect to her fans to treat them as thoughtful persons capable making their individual decisions as to how to vote. Maybe a musical performance need not turn into a bully pulpit. After all, that's not what they paid for!

Here's another thing. Maybe a goal of feminism should be simply to encourage women to do their own thinking and make their own choices; not simply parrot the views of a narrow group of self-appointed opinion-makers!