An Open Letter to Justin Bieber: Vote! |
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| June 28th, 2012 by Student Vote | 2 Comments » |
Dear Justin,
I understand you have recently celebrated your 18th birthday. From one 18 year old to another, my sincerest happy birthday to you. Another year, another questionable run-in with the paparazzi, and an inspirationally-titled album…you’re on a roll!
So Justin, as I watched Letterman on Friday and admired your opera skills and the creative font of your new Believe tattoo, I pondered how exactly you spent your 18th birthday. Luckily, Mr. Letterman wondered too.
Alas, there was no tabloid gossip on this one; you just had a get together with friends and family. How wholesome and sweet – very Canadian! Letterman went on to ask you whether you were going to vote, the only new legal thing you can do at 18. You dutifully responded that you are, in fact, a Canadian citizen. And we appreciated that. We like to claim you as our own. But Letterman didn’t relent there. He went on to ask then, would you vote in Canada? With baited breathe we waited…
Your response? A resounding “Uhhh…”
A million hearts broke, and a million more sent out a silent prayer to John A MacDonald that you were going to make the right move. You flashed a smile to Letterman, and for a moment, we were all blinded and mesmerized before you broke your eloquent silence. That was the end of eloquence as we know it.
“Well I’m not really in Canada right now, so like, I don’t really know what’s going on.” I threw my towel in as David Letterman pursued the fact you should vote in America, even though you are Canadian. You slightly redeemed, that hypothetically, you would definitely vote in America if you had just turned 18 and were an American citizen. Definitely.
Now Justin, Letterman was really trying to do something good for his country. He suggested it would set a very good example for young people in the USA if you were to vote there. He even mentioned it might be a little bit good for Canada too. But here is my problem with what you said. You made it clear you are not becoming an American citizen anytime soon. You often even make it clear that you are proud to be Canadian! So why not be a little nationalistic and help us out. You are the only person with a perfect Klout score of influence. When you tweet “Night Girls,” you get 29,612 replies. Your sphere of influence encompasses the globe! The least you could have done was thrown a little of your influence towards the kids of Canada.
But maybe you’re just not convinced yet. I realize you missed the first Student Vote held this year at your former school. But don’t fret! You can still redeem yourself. In the next five years, you can still vote in Canadian elections, even if you continue living in LA. If you continue to live in the USA after that, I encourage you to keep up with Canadian politics, as much as with American politics. I know it’s a tad quieter than the American goings-on, but that’s why we have Twitter. And Facebook. And blogs. And half a dozen other ways to keep up with politics. Maybe you need to get to know Mr. Harper like you know Mr. Obama. You’ve sang for the American Democratic President, and Mr. Harper is like, the Canadian equivalent of that, but a Conservative. Which is not really like a Democrat at all. But once again, the internet, (and even the television!) can teach you these things.
It is time that you feed your Canadian roots, and help engage young Canadians. The next Canadian election is in 2015, when you’ll be 21. To take a page from Senator Brazeau’s book, if we change the ‘L’ to a ‘V,’ and the ‘V’ to a ‘T’ in Somebody to Love, we’ve got Somebody to Vote. Hopefully that person is you –Never Say Never. You’re arguably the biggest young star to come out of Canada, and we Believe you could really empower young people in the country that calls you its own. Lend us a hand Justin, and vote next time around. Or at least say you’re going to.
Sincerely,
Megan
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I’d rather he not vote if he (like most others) doesn’t know or understand the issues or how the parties would deal with said issues. Informed Democracy is what we need, not sheeple voting for who celebs vote for.