The 2008 United States Presidential Elections are without a doubt history in the making. For the first time in US history, the nation is voting on viable White House hopefuls that includes an African-American and woman. This election comes in a time of war and a massive financial crisis teetering on the brink of an economic depression.
I recently spoke with six American wizard rockers about their thoughts and feelings regarding the upcoming November 4th election. Paul DeGeorge, Harry Year 7 of Harry and the Potters said, “Personally, I think the Bush presidency has been toxic, not just to America, but to the world. Now is a chance to redeem ourselves… it’s our privilege to elect our leaders. And when those leaders fail us, it’s our duty to elect new ones that will hopefully do a better job.”
It’s no secret that the many wizard rock community members are young, college age adults. Having grown up with Harry Potter, for many Wizard Rock fans, this will be their first chance to vote. “I think a lot of wizard rockers and wizard rock fans are at the age where this is the first election [in which] they are able to vote,” said Kristina Horner of The Parselmouths, continuing, “I think having that basic right as an American citizen is something very important for us to exercise. Lots of people fought for all of us to have the right to vote, and to not get involved and care about making ours count would just be silly.”
According to the Rock the Vote website, a program that uses the influence of popular musicians to encourage young people to vote, 20.1 million 18-19 year olds voted in the 2004 election, a 4.3 million voter increase from the 2000 election. However, a March 2006 report from the US Census Bureau states, “The voting rate was higher among the older citizen population than the younger citizen population. The rate for citizens 55 and older was 72 percent in the 2004 presidential election, compared with 47 percent among 18- to 24-year old citizens.”
The Rock the Vote website also states that in the upcoming 2008 election, the number of young people eligible to vote is now 44 million. Says the site, “Forty-four million strong, we are the largest generation in history and represent more than one-fifth of the electorate.” Molly Newman, known to wizard rock fans as Roonil Wazlib, states “…people my age who have grown up in the Bush administration can vote now, and we have the experience of the effects of things like No Child Left Behind and the Iraq war.”
Voting, however, is important for everyone. Erin Pyne of The House of Black says, “You matter. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. You, your opinions, your voice matter. You live in a country where you can vote. Women, minorities, you must realize how rare it is to have rights in this world and you need to exercise [those] rights.”
Of the six wrockers I spoke to all were unsurprisingly Obama supporters, though each for their own reasons. “Obama is a candidate that has inspired me,” said Paul DeGeorge. “In a time when it’s really easy for people to feel down on America, he represents hope and optimism and I think he truly recognizes the potential greatness about our country.” Kristina Horner supports Obama “…because I really like his concern and aims toward the younger generation of voters. This is the first time a candidate has really taken into account that we’re the future leaders of America, and I really like that about him.”
“I agree with nearly all of his policies and I expect that I’d be very happy with any Supreme Court appointments he’d make,” said Matt Maggiacomo, who is The Whomping Willows, who also said of the Supreme Court, “There might be as many as three replacements in the next four to eight years, and John McCain has been vocal about his intention to replace retirees with staunchy conservative judges who would likely overturn Roe v. Wade.”
Matt also mentioned gay marriage as an important issue this election. “Despite the fact that I’m straight, I am extremely passionate in my support for equal marriage,” affirmed the author of the popular pro-gay wrock song “Draco and Harry”. “Like any civil rights issue, often it’s just a matter of transferring power from old politicians to new ones. I feel confident that my generation and younger generations will legalize gay marriage across the board as soon as we have the opportunity.”
Molly, on the other hand, cites education as her priority when making her decision. “More effort needs to be put into giving every child an equal opportunity for success. The Iraq war has taken $3 trillion (in loans from China) to conduct, and it’s still going; making education better in our country would cost far less and no one would die.”
Erin Pyne says of McCain, “If McCain dies (he is in his 70’s) Palin will be the President of the United States; a vote for McCain is a vote for Palin.” She also stated that the economy was her deciding point this election. “We are a country running on credit. If that credit disappears, if the money in the banks disappears, we will have another depression and no one will care about gay rights or saving the caribou; we will be concentrating on getting food, jobs, and medicine. A crash will take America back a century. We need to fix this now.”
Jarrod Perkins, of Gred and Forge, recently published a pro-Obama blog post on his band’s MySpace page. When asked why he felt the urge to do so he said, “The ability to choose our leaders is not something granted to all people of the world… we should take full advantage of it… I’m not trying to tell people exactly what to do, just to educate themselves and DO SOMETHING.”
When asked about using their wizard rocker status to possibly influence the voting of others, Paul DeGeorge said, ” I think of it as my own way of campaigning for my candidate. And if anyone has trouble hearing politics in our music, then they’re not paying close enough attention.” Matt said, “It’s a little tricky because I know there’s a significant portion of my fans who are conservative, and they are just as justified in their views as I am in mine. But that’s the beauty of humanity; we’ve all got our own thoughts and opinions and we’re all entitled to them.”
Most, however, don’t want to ask fans to vote a certain way, they just want them to vote. Kristina said, “…regarding politics and the election, people need to formulate their own ideas and opinions. Unless it’s about registering to vote. Then I say ‘Yes, do it!’”
“Influence is not the word I’d use,” said Molly Newman. “I’d say inform. And I’m fine with that.”
“Getting involved and being knowledgeable are the most important steps before casting your vote,” stated Erin Pyne. “Don’t vote over something stupid like, ‘Obama didn’t wear an American Flag pin’, or ‘McCain sticks out his tongue too much when he talks.’ Vote on real issues that truly affect you. Now more than ever, you need to vote!”
“Be an active citizen in your community,” Molly encouraged as well. “Even if all it means is showing up at the polls, that’s a lot already.”
Regardless of what happens, this November will be an election to remember. Said Matt Maggiacomo, “I personally feel that this is the most important election I’ve been eligible to vote in.”
Note that in many states the deadline to register to vote in the November General Election has passed. However, in many it has not. If you are not yet registered to vote, please call your local County Clerk’s Office to find out when the deadline to register is. Even if you’re too late for this election, its never a bad time to register to vote.
| The author contacted 14 wizard rockers. Responses were used from the six who replied. If you are in a wizard rock band and would like to have your voice potentially heard in a follow up article, email chris at alleycast dot com. |
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