Neil Young...Prophet?

I have to admire singer/songwriter Neil Young for his consistency. For the better part of 50 years he has maintained a look which suggests he just rolled out of bed after a late-night bender. I've had a love/hate relationship with his music. Some of it is just brilliant rock and roll, some great folk, along with a strong element of social commentary. He has managed to piss off a lot of people through the decades because he is so outspoken. That's a tad coarse, but it's probably the best way to describe it.

Well Young is at it again, with a cross-Canada Honour the Treaties concert tour in support of the Athabasca Chipewayan First Nation in Alberta and in opposition to indiscriminate development of the oil sands. All the money from his concerts will support the First Nation, but it is his star-power in this country which really matters here. It is a sad commentary that the aboriginal peoples who are most affected physically, psychologically, and spiritually by development struggle to be heard. Young's efforts were covered by virtually every media outlet and he was interviewed repeatedly.

He is still annoying people though. When folk were randomly polled on the streets of Ottawa one response was "he should shut his pie hole!" That's unequivocal! The same person said he should do a concert in Fort McMurray if he cares so much, and he uses fossil fuels like everyone else. In fact, Young did go to Fort McMurray, and he drove there in his electric car. He expressed his admiration for the hard-working employees of the oil extraction companies. I heard him in a CBC interview and would suggest he is better informed than 95% of Canadians. And the guy does have an activist pedigree:

Young is an outspoken advocate for environmental issues and the welfare of small farmers, having co-founded in 1985 the benefit concert Farm Aid. In 1986, Young helped found The Bridge School,an educational organization for children with severe verbal and physical disabilities, and its annual supporting Bridge School Benefit concerts, together with his wife Pegi Young... Although he has lived in northern California since the 1970s and sings as frequently about U.S. themes and subjects as he does about his native country, he has retained his Canadian citizenship. On July 14, 2006, Young was awarded the Order of Manitoba, and on December 30, 2009, was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.

What do you think about Neil Young's efforts? Should he mind his business, or is this the business of everyone? Personally I think he is "on-key" with this one. What about using his star status to address this issue? Can celebrities be prophets as well, in the biblical tradition? Most of them were told to "shut their pie holes" as well!