By Anne T. Donahue
This week, parts of the internet collapsed in on themselves when Chappell Roan failed to endorse Kamala Harris for president.
In an interview with The Guardian, the pop star revealed that she has “so many issues with our government in every way. There are so many things I would want to change.”
She continued: “So I don’t feel pressured to endorse someone. There’s problems on both sides. I encourage people to use your critical thinking skills, use your vote – vote small, vote for what’s going on in your city.”
Of course, this was interpreted across social media platforms as “I will be voting for Trump.” (Seriously.)
In response, Roan took to TikTok to clarify what she meant, explaining that “there is nuance” to what she says in interviews, and that it’s “important that people use critical thinking.”
“Question authority, and question world leaders, and question myself, question my algorithm, question if some person tweeted something about someone else is even true,” she said before adding, “No, I’m not voting for Trump.”
After watching her video, I, as old as the earth and somehow more tired, then proceeded to dissolve into dust and return to the stars. I had seen everything. I had seen it all.
To start, Chappell Roan doesn’t owe us anything outside of terrific music, which she’s already achieved. Secondly, the need for famous people to stand by a politician is a strange and questionable thing, especially since politics have a storied history of being jam-packed with social and historical failures. (But that’s a conversation for another day.) But finally, to encourage critical thinking does not equate Trumpism. Roan pointed out the reality of a two-party system: both parties are inherently flawed. And while most of us understand that participating in the electoral process requires compromising some of our concerns to prevent somebody worse from taking office, it’s weird that not screaming the praises of a particular administration equates a public endorsement of fascism.
The reason the political landscape is a perpetual suckfest is because we’ve tethered ourselves to the practice of touting politicians like they’re the second coming of whatever-higher-power-you-believe-in. Politicians are people, and people in politics are not characters from The West Wing. (Watch Veep, I beg of you.) Politicians also work for us. Their job is to listen to what our worries are and then, in response, work to actively solve those problems. Our job isn’t to celebrate them for not being somebody else. This is where critical thinking comes in, and why Chappell Roan’s recent comments make me respect her even more.
Why shouldn’t we question the people vying for the power to control huge parts of the world? Why can’t we voice our unhappiness with a lack of action or policy that’s failing more than it’s serving? By pointing out the flaws in somebody’s ethos and approach to leadership, that doesn’t automatically make you a posterchild for the other guy. Instead, it’s choosing to actively participate in the political process by demanding more. More accountability, more public discourse, more explanations behind decisions, more. Roan is merely asking that we – regardless of country or election – treat politicians as those whose professional purpose is to make our lives less shitty. And while we all know that’s an idealistic approach to politics and that the cult of personality can be tough to escape from, it’s the only way to reshape the way holding office looks.
I don’t blame Roan for being annoyed or angry or frustrated in response to the accusations that she’s a Trump supporter or to any number of reactions I saw floated across social media this week. With those responses, her point was proven: we have miles to go in terms of critical thinking, so maybe the first place to start is by not losing our minds over quotes taken out of context. Amen.
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