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Last week word hit the streets that Miley Cyrus, daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus, pop star/twerker extraordinaire was on her way to becoming TIME Magazine’s Person of the Year in the reader polls. As in, the definitive human being of 2013. Now on the one hand, you could argue that Miley Cyrus deserves this moment. With her music videos and live performances she’s sparked conversations about racial and cultural appropriation (and misappropriation), feminism (or lack thereof) in pop culture, and she even put Sinead O’Connor back on the map for a moment. So maybe she is the person of the year. But deep down, when we look at the other nominees for TIME’s list, we know there’s something wrong with that. So here are a few ways we can save our culture and make the world a better place, should Miley Cyrus actually become the Person of the Year.
Read Malala Yousafzai’s Book
Miley Cyrus being named Person of the Year is only disturbing in that it highlights the people she beat out. One of those people is Malala Yousafzai, the teenage girl who was targeted by the Taliban for speaking out for the rights of young girls in Pakistan. She survived critical gunshot wounds to the head and continues to speak out as a feminist, though her life is still in danger. She recently got a book deal, and we should all probably read it, whether Miley Cyrus wins Person of the Year or not.
P.S. There’s still time to vote for Malala HERE.
Read Any Book, Probably
If Miley wins, it will be proof that we really are living in a time where people just aren’t reading enough. If we value the Twerk Queen over some of the other folks on that list, we probably need to read up on those people. Or read anything. Seriously, there are many great books. The Old Man and the Sea, Beloved, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. There are many, many other great books out there. Let’s take a step away from Twitter (just for a minute!) and grab a good ol’ fashioned book.
Make Sure Any Child You Meet Who Knows The Name ‘Miley Cyrus’ Also Knows The Name ‘Malala Yousafzai’
Mileys Cyrus is the name on everyone’s lips right now. Fine, whatever. But you can do your part to make the world a better place by making sure that any child (or adult, for that matter) who mentions or invokes the name of Miley also gets a little lesson in current, twerk-free events. Malala Yousafzai could serve as an especially good lesson.
Donate To Any Scholarship Fund That Isn’t Juicy J’s Scholarship Fund For Twerking
Because nobody out here should be supporting Juicy J’s scholarship for twerking. Nobody. Oh, and because there are so many other worthy causes. Angelina Jolie, for example, recently donated a hefty sum to the Malala Fund. Not a bad idea.
Create Your Own Non-Twerking Fund
There are a million ways (big and small) to give back and make the world a better place. Why not use this Miley Cyrus Person of the Year situation to get inspired and make a change? Seriously guys. We can’t just let this happen and do nothing.
