I’m usually not a fan of famous people using their notoriety for their pet political causes. It has become en vogue more so lately, particularly with Kim Kardashian’s successful bid to encourage President Trump to grant clemency to Alice Marie Johnson. While some of the stories are sweet, they often reek of opportunism, fame, and nepotism — and the efforts lack any consistency or overarching moral compass driving them. That said, Meghan McCain (conservative co-host on “The View” and daughter of Sen. John McCain) used her platform for good recently, and we should all applaud it.
Several weeks ago, McCain became aware of a young woman, 21-year-old Lexi Caviston. Caviston has glioblastoma, the same kind of cancer John McCain has, and who wanted desperately to meet one of her favorite singer-songwriters, Taylor Swift. Immediately, Meghan McCain began tweeting about it, hoping to gain social media momentum, and to use Twitter for good. She was persistent about tweeting and perhaps pulled some strings behind the scenes.
It all started with a tweet about a girl named Lexi battling glioblastoma, who wanted to meet her idol @taylorswift13. Our @MeghanMcCain saw it and sprang into action! ✨ See how the story unfolded: pic.twitter.com/ZqYQpCqzcD
— The View (@TheView) July 22, 2018
Eventually, Caviston was told she would be meeting Swift and indeed, she did.
On Tuesday, Caviston was on “The View” and told audience members and the ladies the event was “life-changing.” As a final surprise, they gifted Caviston and her family and friends tickets to see “Hamilton,” plus backstage passes to meet the cast.
McCain often catches a bad rap for defending her father on the show or being too serious. Recently a former co-host of “The View,” Sherri Shepherd, said she thought McCain needed to lighten up. McCain’s personality and politics aside, her choice to utilize her platform (she has almost 500,000 Twitter followers) for good is a wonderful example of how to use social media and TV for a cause that surpasses politics, fame, and even meeting someone famous.
The will of the human spirit to survive is strong, but in Caviston’s case, likely needed a boost. The disease she is battling is tough and requires force of will, determination, and grit just to get through each day. This small gesture of kindness, about something that’s even somewhat superficial (meeting a famous singer), shows that in the end, what matters in life is not how many followers a person has on Twitter, or how many people recognize your name, but how we treat other people who are less fortunate.
