Until Anderson Cooper decides to vote, to take part in the democracy he so enjoys, I will not watch him on the news or read his posts or listen to him discuss the serious or the silly. I will, however, put him on my own RidicuList.
On a recent interview for "The Howard Stern Show" the openly gay CNN anchor and news host said, among other things, "I don't think I'm going to vote... I don't think reporters should vote... A lot of reporters don't vote. It's a thing."
Going Gluten-free is a "thing." Not voting is an abomination.
Cooper states in the interview that he doesn't want to be influenced "one way or the other." He wants to remain "impartial," and says that he believes people should vote, but his role "is to ask questions."
As a journalist myself and an openly gay man, one who has always voted, I find this logic immature and smug. For starters, it suggests that he is unbiased, and voting would somehow change that trait. News flash: There is no such thing as unbiased reporting; it's the first thing you learn in Journalism 101. You try not to show your prejudices, but it's inevitable that your bias will affect your reporting.
CNN is biased and so is its lead anchor. That's not going to change if Cooper stays home on election day. If he truly believes that voting for, say, Sanders over Clinton, is going to overtly affect his duties, then he's not a good enough reporter to do his job.
Besides, Cooper has demonstrated on several occasions a personal bias. He goes to Madonna concerts and allows himself to be her onstage "bitch." He adores Kathy Griffin and spends New Years Eve in Times Square with the comedian, gossiping about celebrity-dom and his Twitter fans and foes. Most notably, he engaged in his own Twitter feud with Alec Baldwin over the latter's perceived homophobic remarks.
While the above might seem like the benign activities of any typical celebrity, they are declarations of viewpoints; of endorsing a liberal, extremely controversial pop star and a liberal, extremely provocative comedian, and of being affected by the slurs of a heterosexual actor.
Cooper's public relationships and views are not the actions of a reporter claiming impartiality, so much so that he denies himself the privilege of voting for, I'm assuming, a candidate who will uphold the ideals that Madonna and Griffin endorse. Or not voting for one who'd love to see more Alec Baldwin-esque slurs materialize. He is using his celebrity status to promote the values he believes are important and to express his Constitutional rights.
Unless Cooper is truly an automaton, as people often joke, he has a preference, a favorite or favorites, a person or people he believes would make this country a better place if elected. The only thing accomplished by not voting is allowing someone else's vote to matter more, and that's an absurd political non-action act. By not going to the ballot box, Cooper's vote still counts, but for the other guy or girl.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are approximately 54,000 fulltime journalists in the country; 90,000 by other estimates. If they followed Cooper's lead they could swing an election. And where does the impartiality problem stop? Should judges be allowed to vote? Heck, even Dancing with the Stars has politician contestants. Are TV judges unfairly influenced if they vote? Game show judges? And what about the candidates? They have been way too influenced, by themselves.
Much progress has been made in this country since Edward R. Murrow said that "a nation of sheep will beget a government of fools." Cooper's ascension as anchorman and author and out personality is a direct result of the voting habits of a generation and the influence of the media. He is a byproduct of his own profession. To negate his private voice places him in Murrow's first category because it means that, sub-consciously or not, he prefers to live at the whim of other people's beliefs while espousing the freedoms they've given him and for which many have lost their lives. That is reckless, highly irresponsible behavior.
I can't make anyone vote, and Anderson Cooper is free to abstain. However, since I have spent my adult life voting for candidates whom I believe will support LGBT rights and civil rights and the freedoms of all individuals, I cannot endorse a citizen who chooses to ignore the voting process. In the same way I would tell a friend that not voting equals not making complaints, I believe Cooper has no business personally rallying around any injustices he witnesses in the country.
Until Anderson Cooper votes, I don't want to hear him voice his opinions, I don't want to read about his endeavors, and I certainly don't want to support his current book and documentary, the one about the famous gay man and his famous mother. He needs to understand that every choice he makes, every opportunity he enjoys, everything he has could be taken away in a heartbeat.
As Walter Cronkite once said, "There is no such thing as a little freedom. Either you are all free, or you are not free."
Walter Cronkite voted.