A Diamond In The Rough

My Memaw was a music fan.  She liked all kinds of music from big bands to country.  She even liked Rod Stewart back in the day.  Probably her favorite artist was Elvis Presley.  She liked his music but she was more impressed with the person he was.  I know all the documentaries that are out about him recently do not picture him in a good light and he died because of his addiction to prescription drugs, but there were other things she explained to me that she admired.  She liked that he served in the military instead of trying to get out of it.  She liked that he was a friend to people of all colors, incorporated rhythm and blues music into his music, when all of this was unheard of during that time.  She respected his work ethic, doing 27 movies in 8 years, along with recording new music.  And she loved his courage; he performed live in a concert after being away for 7 years.  He was so nervous but was very successful in that comeback concert.  Netflix has even made this into a new movie called “Return of the King:  The Fall and Rise of Elvis Presley”.

One of the many lessons Memaw has taught me is that everyone has a special talent or skill.  You can enjoy these things from others, but you need to look beyond that talent to see what type of person they are.  She used athletes as a perfect example.  What type of person are they off the court or field?  Admire people for who they are, not just for their extraordinary skill.  In recent news, you are hearing about recording artists, movie producers, and actors involved in some really heinous acts toward other people. These acts are so bad, that they are criminal. We are constantly hearing about athletes throwing tantrums, prone to acts of violence, and even committing crimes. These celebrities and athletes wants us to "forgive them" these horrible acts because they are great singers, actors, or talented athletes. It's enough to make us want to gag! But not all celebrities or famous people are like this. Some actually don't break the law or are horrible to other people. In fact, some are even great role models.

This brings me to today’s lesson:  Taylor Swift.  Even if you are not a fan of her music, unless you live under a rock, then you know that her almost 2-year tour is ending.  For most people who are not Swifties, this means little to our lives–or at least we think it does.  However, Taylor Swift is one of those people who you can admire without being obsessed with her or her music.  In a roundabout way, she has touched many lives, including your own.  Seriously.  Let me explain…

Economically

Because of her concerts, her music, her merchandise, etc., she has generated millions and millions of dollars into the economy.  She has done this by people purchasing her tickets and merchandise, but also in other ways: people flying, driving, or Ubering to her concerts, people staying in hotels, eating in restaurants, maybe taking in the attractions after the concert in that city.  She, herself, employs hundreds of workers–from stage crew, security, truck drivers, caterers, instrument techs, merchandise teams, lighting, sound, production staff and assistants, carpenters, dancers, band, choreographers, pyrotechnics, riggers, hair, make-up, wardrobe, physical therapists, and video team, to name a few!  She created such an economic boom that even the Federal Reserve took note.

Voting

Taylor Swift made the young generation think about their civic duty.  At the beginning of 2024, she made a post on Instagram, encouraging people to register to vote.  After this post, a record-setting 30,000+ people registered through Vote.org and many of them were teens who would vote for the first time in the presidential election.  No one else has created such a stir in voter registration, especially with young people.  I don’t know if they did indeed vote or not, but at least they registered.

Strong Character

Ms. Swift is a huge role model for so many people.  Thankfully, she has the characteristics that make her a good role model.  For example, she has a strong sense of resilience.  For several years, there has been an issue with who actually owned her music rights.  It was decided that she did not own her music–someone else did.  This obviously was a major disappointment for her but instead of getting mad, blaming others, or giving up, she found a way to win.  Since that court decision, she has re-recorded almost all of her albums and, in support of her, radio stations will only play her music that she had re-recorded, called “Taylor’s Version”.

Taylor Swift has demonstrated other characteristics such as having a high self-esteem, being a true friend to others, and advocating for equality and women’s rights through her actions.  However, she also knows her limitations.  For example, she has admitted many times that she is not a good dancer and will do very little dancing in her concerts.  She also has a very strong work ethic.  While touring her 150 shows, she made a concert film, released a coffee table book, re-recorded two of her albums, and released a new album–all the while connecting with fans on social media and dating a high profile professional football player.  The girl is not lazy!

The Swift Bump in Football

Speaking of football, because of her dating an NFL player and attending NFL games, there is a new phrase–The Swift Bump.  This is what they are calling the phenomenon in which there is a 20% surge in sponsorships in the NFL.  There is also a 50% rise of young women (12-17-year-olds) who are tuning in to NFL games.  The reason?  Because Taylor Swift attends some of the Kansas City Chiefs’ games to cheer on her NFL boyfriend.  These women are tuning into the games for the chance to see Taylor Swift but many of these women are getting hooked onto the game of football.  The Kansas City Chiefs even have a 57% increase in viewers compared to last year.  Taylor Swift doesn’t attend all the games but even when she is not at the games, there is still an increase among women watching the games.  She is bringing the game of football to women unlike anything that has been done in the past.  Good for her.

Generosity and Charity

Finally, Taylor Swift also is a generous person.  First, she takes care of her own.  Over the past two years, besides employing all those people I listed above, she also gave out bonuses to them–to the amount of $197 million!  Now, she made a lot of money with her concerts, merchandise, movie, book, and albums, but she took care of her people.  Not all entertainers do this beyond the salary.  What a great act of goodwill.

She also donated $5 million dollars to the Hurricane Relief Fund.  Again, $5 million may not be a lot to her but how many other celebrities/athletes/entertainers gave money to the fund, much less $5 million?  Not that many…

And she is generous with her time.  Instead of buying expensive, purebred animals, she adopted her 3 cats from animal shelters.  There are so many animals at the shelters that need a home.  She graciously adopted 3 to live with her. 

Yes, I think my Memaw would have really liked Taylor Swift.  She may or may not have liked her music but she would have admired how she carried herself.  Memaw would have felt Ms. Swift was a good role model to young people.  I think we can all agree.  Yes, we are constantly hearing a lot about Taylor Swift in the past few years but I think there are some really good reasons why.  She demonstrates that you can "have it all" and still be a good person.

And if you are like some people, who don’t like her no matter what, then you are entitled to your opinion.  But what are your reasons?  I gave you mine on why we should admire her.  However, there are all kinds of people in the world.  Sometimes, in Taylor Swift’s words, you just need to “shake it off, shake it off….”.

Tell me in the comments other people you admire and think are good role models. If you are not a Taylor Swift fan, tell me why not.