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Citizen Change: Vote or Die!
"Citizen Change has enabled people to understand that we as a nation are one."
By
DeShawnna Riley
A lot of celebrities care whether or not you vote- especially if you’re one of the 42 million young voters aged 18 to 30, also known as the “forgotten ones”. Celebrities such as the Dixie Chicks, R.E.M. and P. Diddy are reaching out to young voters, encouraging them to vote and make a change. In P. Diddy’s case, he’s running a campaign with the slogan, Vote or Die! You see images of this slogan everywhere you turn, from posters on billboards to commercials on television. Even Eve advertises the campaign by wearing the Vote or Die! shirt on her hit show, Eve. This slogan is everywhere! It grabs the attention of millions of people, sending a powerful message that everyone’s vote counts.
Citizen Change, a non-partisan and non-profit organization founded by Sean “P. Diddy” Combs, was created to educate, motivate, and empower young voters aged 18 to 30 with the slogan Vote or Die! P.Diddy feels that the “forgotten ones” have been neglected because of their lack of participation in politics. Even though they make up 25 percent of the voting population, only half of them were registered to vote for the 2000 election. The result: they’re being denied access to health care, good educations, and many are unemployed. This situation has become what P. Diddy believes to be life or death.
Together with MTV, BET, and Clear Channel, Citizen Change is targeting the young voters by making “voting hot, sexy, and relevant to a generation that hasn’t reached full participation in the political process.” Citizen Change has also partnered with top designers such as Tommy Hilfiger, Marc Ecko, Russell Simmons for Phat Farm, and Sean John to design a limited edition series of t-shirts that feature the Vote or Die! slogan. These t-shirts, along with the “Coalition of the Willing”- which includes members such as Jay-Z, Mya, Mary J. Blige, Aston Kutcher, and Drew Barrymore, just to name a few- are reinventing voter appeal. And I think the campaign is great.
The good response Citizen Change has received from the general public is a sign that the United States can change for the better. Politics not only affects the adults that vote, it also affects the future youth of the world- and it’s great that people are finally making this connection. I respect such celebrities as Mya, Mary J. Blidge, and 50 Cent, and hearing them tell me my vote is important, means they care. They’re not just trying to sell me a new album or movie- they’re calling on me to make a difference. And even though I’m not old enough to vote just yet, I definately will when the time comes.
Citizen Change has also enabled people to understand that we as a nation are one. Just because someone is a celebrity and makes millions of dollars, doesn’t set them apart from any other regular person when it comes to politics. At the end of the day, the celebrity, the homeless person, and the average-income American has one thing in common- they each have only one vote. And that one vote is enough to unite a country of many different political, social, and economic backgrounds.
So...go out and vote! Election Day is November 2, 2004. Celebrities can encourage people to vote, but it is up to you to actually go to the polls. Spend fifteen minutes of your time voting for our next president and the propositions on your ballot because you can make a difference. You only have one vote, take advantage of the right to use it.
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