Taylor Swift gave $100,000 to the Nashville Symphony. Larry McCormack / File / The Tennessean Taylor Swift performs at LP Field for the first nightly concert at the 2013 CMA Music Festival Thursday June 6, 2013, in Nashville, Tenn.(Photo: Larry McCormack / The Tennessean)
U.S. Sen. Bob Corker might be the Tennessean who talks most about the crisis in Ukraine, but a much younger Volunteer State citizen got a shout-out over the weekend from New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof.
Kristof, whose father grew up in the village of Karapchiv, made the case in a Sunday column that western cultural influences -- and more specifically, movie stars and singers, including a certain 24-year-old chanteuse who operates out of Nashville -- might have something to say about what ultimately happens there.
"The kids here learn English and flirt in low-cut bluejeans," he wrote. "They listen to Rihanna, AC/DC and Taylor Swift. They have crushes on George Clooney and Angelina Jolie, watch "The Simpsons" and "Family Guy," and play Grand Theft Auto. The School here has computers and an Internet connection, which kids use to watch YouTube and join Facebook."
Kristof makes the case that the people in the region have their eyes turned decidedly to the west. To be fair to Corker,Kristof's argument echoes and elaborates on what Tennessee's junior senator has been saying in recent weeks, that the Obama administration hasn't been bold enough in its response to Russian President Vladimir Putin's aggression.
Kristof's most memorable line, though — spoiler alert — elevates the Nashville singer's status, um, substantially.
"In the battle between Putin and Taylor Swift," he writes, "I bet on Swift."
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