There's no such thing as not voting | Eric Liu

Translator: Klavdija Cernilogar Reviewer: Nika Kotnik

Why bother?

Zakaj bi si delali sitnosti?

The game is rigged.

Igra je manipulirana.

My vote won't count.

Moj glas ne šteje.

The choices are terrible.

Izbira je grozna.

Voting is for suckers.

Volitve so za zgube.

Perhaps you've thought some of these things.

Morda tudi vas prešinja kaj takega.

Perhaps you've even said them.

Morda ste to celo izrekli.

And if so, you wouldn't be alone, and you wouldn't be entirely wrong.

Ne bi bili edini in ne bi se popolnoma motili.

The game of public policy today is rigged in many ways.

Igra politike je danes v mnogočem manipulirana.

How else would more than half of federal tax breaks

Kako bi sicer več kot polovico davčnih olajšav

flow up to the wealthiest five percent of Americans?

imelo najbogatejših pet odstotkov Američanov?

And our choices indeed are often terrible.

In izbira je pogosto res grozna.

For many people across the political spectrum,

Za ljudi vseh političnih nazorov

Exhibit A is the 2016 presidential election.

so glavni dokaz predsedniške volitve 2016.

But in any year, you can look up and down the ballot

A katerokoli leto pogledate na glasovnico,

and find plenty to be uninspired about.

boste našli malo navdiha.

But in spite of all this, I still believe voting matters.

Vsemu navkljub menim, da so volitve pomembne.

And crazy as it may sound,

In naj se sliši še tako noro,

I believe we can revive the joy of voting.

verjamem, da lahko vrnemo veselje do glasovanja.

Today, I want to talk about how we can do that, and why.

Rad bi vam povedal, kako in zakaj.

There used to be a time in American history when voting was fun,

Nekoč so bile volitve v Ameriki zabavne,

when it was much more than just a grim duty to show up at the polls.

ni šlo le za turobno dolžnost priti na volišče.

That time is called "most of American history."

Ta čas se imenuje "večina ameriške zgodovine".

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

From the Revolution to the Civil Rights Era,

Od revolucije do boja za državljanske pravice

the United States had a vibrant,

so ZDA imele živo

robustly participatory and raucous culture of voting.

močno participatorno in glasno kulturo glasovanja.

It was street theater, open-air debates, fasting and feasting and toasting,

Šlo je za ulično gledališče, razprave na prostem, post in gostijo,

parades and bonfires.

zdravice, parade in krese.

During the 19th century, immigrants and urban political machines

V 19. stoletju so priseljenci in urbani politični stroji

helped fuel this culture of voting.

podžgali kulturo glasovanja.

That culture grew with each successive wave of new voters.

Ta kultura je z vsakim novim valom volivcev rasla.

During Reconstruction, when new African-American voters,

Med obnovo, ko so novi afroameriški volivci,

new African-American citizens,

novi afroameriški državljani

began to exercise their power,

začeli izvajati svoje pravice,

they celebrated in jubilee parades

so praznovali s paradami,

that connected emancipation with their newfound right to vote.

ki so emancipacijo povezovale z novo pravico do glasovanja.

A few decades later, the suffragettes

Nekaj desetletij kasneje so sufražetke

brought a spirit of theatricality to their fight,

v svoj boj dodale duh teatralnosti,

marching together in white dresses as they claimed the franchise.

ko so v belih oblekah marširale z zahtevami po volilni pravici.

And the Civil Rights Movement,

Gibanje za državljanske pravice,

which sought to redeem the promise of equal citizenship

ki je zahtevalo izpolnitev obljube po enakopravnem državljanstvu,

that had been betrayed by Jim Crow,

ki jo je bil prevaral Jim Crow,

put voting right at the center.

je volitve postavilo v središče.

From Freedom Summer to the march in Selma,

Od poletja svobode do pohoda v Selmi

that generation of activists knew that voting matters,

je ta generacija aktivistov vedela, da so volitve pomembne

and they knew that spectacle and the performance of power

in da je spektakel ter prikaz moči

is key to actually claiming power.

ključen za pridobitev moči.

But it's been over a half century since Selma and the Voting Rights Act,

A od Selme in zakona o volilni pravici je minilo preko pol stoletja

and in the decades since,

in v minulih desetletjih

this face-to-face culture of voting

je ta fizični izraz kulture volitev

has just about disappeared.

skoraj izginil.

It's been killed by television

Ubila sta ga televizija

and then the internet.

in za njo internet.

The couch has replaced the commons.

Kavč je nadomestil parlament.

Screens have made citizens into spectators.

Ekrani so iz državljanov naredili gledalce.

And while it's nice to share political memes on social media,

In čeprav je fino deliti politične meme na družabnih omrežjih,

that's a rather quiet kind of citizenship.

je to bolj tiha oblika državljanstva.

It's what the sociologist Sherry Turkle calls "being alone together."

Sociologinja Sherry Turkle to imenuje "biti sami skupaj".

What we need today

Danes potrebujemo

is an electoral culture that is about being together together,

volilno kulturo, kjer bomo skupaj skupaj,

in person,

osebno,

in loud and passionate ways,

glasno in strastno,

so that instead of being "eat your vegetables" or "do you duty,"

tako volitve ne bodo kot "pojej zelenjavo" ali "opravi dolžnost",

voting can feel more like "join the club"

temveč kot "pridruži se klubu"

or, better yet, "join the party."

ali "vstopi v stranko".

Imagine if we had, across the country right now,

Zamislite si, da bi se po vsej državi,

in local places but nationwide,

lokalno, ampak povsod,

a concerted effort to revive a face-to-face set of ways

trudili oživiti osebne pristope

to engage and electioneer:

k sodelovanju in agitiranju,

outdoor shows in which candidates and their causes are mocked

dogodke na prostem, kjer bi kandidate smešili

and praised in broad satirical style;

ter hvalili skozi satiro,

soapbox speeches by citizens;

impromptu govore državljanov,

public debates held inside pubs;

javne razprave v gostilnah,

streets filled with political art and handmade posters and murals;

politično umetnost na ulicah, ročno narejene posterje in slike,

battle of the band concerts in which competing performers rep their candidates.

koncertno bitko glasbenikov, ki predstavljajo svoje kandidate.

Now, all of this may sound a little bit 18th century to you,

Morda se to sliši kot vrnitev v 18. stoletje,

but in fact, it doesn't have to be any more 18th century

a ni treba, da je tako,

than, say, Broadway's "Hamilton,"

nič bolj kot broadwayski Hamilton,

which is to say vibrantly contemporary.

ki je tako živo moderen.

And the fact is that all around the world,

Dejstvo je, da po vsem svetu

today, millions of people are voting like this.

milijoni ljudi danes volijo na ta način.

In India, elections are colorful, communal affairs.

V Indiji so volitve pisani dogodek v skupnosti.

In Brazil, election day is a festive, carnival-type atmosphere.

V Braziliji je volilni dan prazničen, karnevalski.

In Taiwan and Hong Kong, there is a spectacle,

Na Tajvanu in v Hong Kongu gre za predstavo,

eye-popping, eye-grabbing spectacle

privlačen spektakel

to the street theater of elections.

uličnega gledališča volitev.

You might ask, well, here in America, who has time for this?

Vprašali boste, kdo v ZDA ima čas za to.

And I would tell you

Povem vam,

that the average American watches five hours of television a day.

da povprečen Američan gleda TV pet ur na dan.

You might ask, who has the motivation?

Rekli boste: "Kdo je motiviran?"

And I'll tell you,

Povem vam,

any citizen who wants to be seen and heard

vsak državljan, ki hoče biti viden in slišan,

not as a prop, not as a talking point,

ne kot okrasek, ne kot fraza,

but as a participant, as a creator.

temveč kot deležnik, ustvarjalec.

Well, how do we make this happen?

Kako naj to dosežemo?

Simply by making it happen.

Tako, da to naredimo.

That's why a group of colleagues and I

Zato smo s skupino kolegov

launched a new project called "The Joy of Voting."

ustvarili projekt "Veselje do glasovanja".

In four cities across the United States --

V štirih mestih v ZDA,

Philadelphia, Miami,

Filadelfija, Miami,

Akron, Ohio, and Wichita, Kansas --

Akron (Ohio) in Wichita (Kansas),

we've gathered together artists and activists,

smo zbrali umetnike in aktiviste,

educators, political folks, neighbors, everyday citizens

učitelje, politike, sosede, navadne ljudi,

to come together and create projects

da se združijo v projekte,

that can foster this culture of voting in a local way.

ki bodo spodbujali lokalno kulturo glasovanja.

In Miami, that means all-night parties with hot DJs

V Miamiju so to celonočne zabave z znanimi didžeji,

where the only way to get in is to show that you're registered to vote.

kamor lahko pridete samo, če pokažete, da ste registriran volivec.

In Akron, it means political plays

V Akronu uprizarjajo politične igre

being performed in the bed of a flatbed truck

na tovornjaku,

that moves from neighborhood to neighborhood.

ki vozi skozi soseske.

In Philadelphia,

V Filadelfiji

it's a voting-themed scavenger hunt all throughout colonial old town.

gre za igro iskanja z volitvami povezanih skrivnosti v starem delu mesta.

And in Wichita, it's making mixtapes and live graffiti art

V Wichiti ustvarjajo kompilacije in grafite

in the North End to get out the vote.

in v North Endu pozivajo na volitve.

There are 20 of these projects,

Dvajset takih projektov je

and they are remarkable in their beauty and their diversity,

in vsi so posebno lepi in raznoliki

in spreminjajo ljudi.

and they are changing people.

Let me tell you about a couple of them.

Naj vam jih nekaj opišem.

In Miami, we've commissioned and artist,

V Miamiju smo najeli

a young artist named Atomico,

mladega umetnika Atomica,

to create some vivid and vibrant images for a new series of "I voted" stickers.

ki ustvarja živahne slike za nalepke "glasoval sem".

But the thing is, Atomico had never voted.

A Atomico ni nikoli glasoval.

He wasn't even registered.

Še registriral se ni.

So as he got to work on creating this artwork for these stickers,

Ko je delal te nalepke,

he also began to get over his sense of intimidation about politics.

je tudi premagal strah pred politiko.

He got himself registered,

Registriral se je,

and then he got educated about the upcoming primary election,

se informiral o prihajajočih volitvah

and on election day he was out there not just passing out stickers,

in na volilni dan ni samo delil nalepk,

but chatting up voters and encouraging people to vote,

ampak volivce nagovarjal, naj volijo,

and talking about the election with passersby.

ter z mimoidočimi govoril o volitvah.

In Akron, a theater company called the Wandering Aesthetics

V Akronu je gledališka skupina Wandering Aesthetics

has been putting on these pickup truck plays.

pripravila igre na tovornjaku.

And to do so, they put out an open call to the public

V ta namen so javnost pozvali,

asking for speeches, monologues, dialogues, poems,

naj prispeva govore, monologe, dialoge, pesmi,

snippets of anything that could be read aloud

dele česarkoli, kar bi se dalo na glas prebrati

and woven into a performance.

in sestaviti v predstavo.

They got dozens of submissions.

Dobili so na ducate prispevkov.

One of them was a poem

Eno od pesmi

written by nine students in an ESL class,

je napisalo devet učencev angleščine,

all of them Hispanic migrant workers

ki so bili latinskoameriški migranti delavci

from nearby Hartville, Ohio.

iz bližnjega Hartvilla v Ohiu.

I want to read to you from this poem.

Rad bi vam prebral to pesem.

It's called "The Joy of Voting."

Naslov je "Veselje do glasovanja".

"I would like to vote for the first time

"Rad bi prvič volil,

because things are changing for Hispanics.

ker se stvari za Latinoameričane spreminjajo.

I used to be afraid of ghosts.

Bal sem se duhov.

Now I am afraid of people.

Zdaj se bojim ljudi.

There's more violence and racism.

Več nasilja in rasizma je.

Voting can change this.

Volitve to lahko spremenijo.

The border wall is nothing.

Zid na meji ni nič.

It's just a wall.

Le zid je.

The wall of shame is something.

Zid sramote je nekaj.

It's very important to vote

Pomembno je glasovati,

so we can break down this wall of shame.

da podremo zid sramote.

I have passion in my heart.

V mojem srcu je strast.

Voting gives me a voice and power.

Glasovanje mi da glas in moč.

I can stand up and do something."

Lahko nekaj dosežem."

"The Joy of Voting" project isn't just about joy.

Pri projektu "Veselje do glasovanja" ne gre samo za veselje.

It's about this passion.

Gre za neko strast.

It's about feeling and belief,

Gre za občutek, za vero

and it isn't just our organization's work.

in to ni samo delo naše organizacije.

All across this country right now,

Po vsej državi ta trenutek

immigrants, young people, veterans, people of all different backgrounds

priseljenci, mladi, veterani, ljudje z različnimi ozadji

are coming together to create this kind of passionate, joyful activity

prihajajo skupaj in ustvarjajo take strastne, vesele aktivnosti,

around elections,

povezane z volitvami,

in red and blue states, in urban and rural communities,

v rdečih in modrih zveznih državah, v mestih in na podeželju,

people of every political background.

ljudje vseh političnih ozadij.

What they have in common is simply this:

Skupno jim je enostavno tole:

their work is rooted in place.

aktivni so tam, kjer živijo.

Because remember, all citizenship is local.

Ne pozabite, državljanstvo je vedno lokalno.

When politics becomes just a presidential election,

Ko politiki ostanejo samo predsedniške volitve,

we yell and we scream at our screens, and then we collapse, exhausted.

samo kričimo v ekrane in se izmučeni zgrudimo.

But when politics is about us

Ko gre v politiki za nas,

and our neighbors and other people in our community

ko sosedje in drugi člani skupnosti

coming together to create experiences of collective voice and imagination,

pridejo skupaj in ustvarijo skupen glas, skupno domišljijo,

then we begin to remember that this stuff matters.

se spomnimo, da so te stvari pomembne.

We begin to remember that this is the stuff of self-government.

Spomnimo se, da gre za samovlado.

Which brings me back to where I began.

Kar me vrne na začetek.

Why bother?

Zakaj nam je mar?

There's one way to answer this question.

Samo en odgovor je.

Voting matters because it is a self-fulfilling act of belief.

Glasovanje je pomembno, ker gre za delovanje vere.

It feeds the spirit of mutual interest that makes any society thrive.

Gre za odziv skupnega interesa, zaradi katerega družbe cvetijo.

When we vote, even if it is in anger,

Ko volimo, četudi iz jeze,

we are part of a collective, creative leap of faith.

smo del skupnega kreativnega skoka v neznano.

Voting helps us generate the very power that we wish we had.

Glasovanje nam daje moč, ki si jo želimo imeti.

It's no accident that democracy and theater

Ni naključje, da sta se demokracija in gledališče

emerged around the same time in ancient Athens.

pojavila v antičnih Atenah približno sočasno.

Both of them yank the individual out of the enclosure of her private self.

Oba posameznika izbezata iz zasebne sfere.

Both of them create great public experiences of shared ritual.

Oba prineseta pomembno javno izkušnjo skupnega rituala.

Both of them bring the imagination to life

Oba spodbudita domišljijo,

in ways that remind us that all of our bonds in the end

ki nas opomni, da so vse vezi, vsi stiki

are imagined, and can be reimagined.

izmišljeni in jih lahko na novo premislimo.

This moment right now,

Ta trenutek,

when we think about the meaning of imagination,

ko razmišljamo o pomenu domišljije,

is so fundamentally important,

je tako temeljnega pomena,

and our ability to take that spirit

naša zmožnost ujeti tega duha

and to take that sense

in ta pomen,

that there is something greater out there,

da je tam zunaj nekaj večjega,

is not just a matter of technical expertise.

pa ni samo stvar tehničnega znanja.

It's not just a matter of making the time or having the know-how.

Ne gre samo za čas in veščine.

It is a matter of spirit.

Gre za duha.

But let me give you an answer to this question, "Why bother?"

Naj vam odgovorim, zakaj naj nam bo mar.

that is maybe a little less spiritual and a bit more pointed.

Odgovor bo manj poduhovljen in bolj direkten.

Why bother voting?

Zakaj glasovati?

Because there is no such thing as not voting.

Ker "ne-glasovanje" ne obstaja.

Not voting is voting,

Ne-glasovanje je glasovanje

for everything that you may detest and oppose.

za vse, kar sovražite.

Not voting can be dressed up

Ne-glasovanje ne more biti dejanje načelnega pasivnega odpora,

as an act of principled, passive resistance,

but in fact not voting

temveč gre za aktivno predajo moči

is actively handing power over

to those whose interests are counter to your own,

tistim, katerih interesi so vašim nasprotni,

and those who would be very glad to take advantage of your absence.

tistim, ki bodo z veseljem izkoristili vašo odsotnost.

Not voting is for suckers.

Ne-glasovanje je za reve.

Imagine where this country would be

Zamislite si, kje bi bila ta država,

if all the folks who in 2010 created the Tea Party

če bi vsi, ki so leta 2010 ustvarili čajansko gibanje,

had decided that, you know, politics is too messy,

mislili, da je politika preveč kaotična,

voting is too complicated.

volitve prezapletene.

There is no possibility of our votes adding up to anything.

Ni možnosti, da bi naši glasovi kaj veljali.

They didn't preemptively silence themselves.

Niso se samoutišali.

They showed up,

Prišli so

and in the course of showing up, they changed American politics.

in s prisotnostjo spremenili ameriško politiko.

Imagine if all of the followers of Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders

Kaj ko bi se pristaši Donalda Trumpa in Bernieja Sandersa

had decided not to upend the political status quo

odločili, da ne bodo razburkali političnega statusa quo

and blow apart the frame of the previously possible

ter razdrli okvirja nekoč mogočega

in American politics.

v ameriški politiki.

They did that by voting.

To so storili z glasovanjem.

We live in a time right now,

Živimo v času, ki je razdeljen, pogosto zelo temačen,

divided, often very dark,

where across the left and the right, there's a lot of talk of revolution

kjer se na levi in desni veliko govori o revoluciji

and the need for revolution to disrupt everyday democracy.

in da mora revolucija razburkati vsakdanjo demokracijo.

Well, here's the thing:

Tako je to:

everyday democracy already gives us a playbook for revolution.

vsakdanja demokracija že omogoča revolucijo.

In the 2012 presidential election,

Na predsedniških volitvah 2012

young voters, Latino voters,

je bilo mladih, Latinoameričanov,

Asian-American voters, low-income voters,

azijskih Američanov, revnih,

all showed up at less than 50 percent.

na volišču manj kot polovica.

In the 2014 midterm elections, turnout was 36 percent,

Leta 2014 je bila na vmesnih volitvah volilna udeležba 36-odstotna,

which was a 70-year low.

kar je najmanj v zadnjih 70 letih.

And in your average local election,

Na povprečnih lokalnih volitvah

turnout hovers somewhere around 20 percent.

je udeležba okoli 20-odstotna.

I invite you to imagine 100 percent.

Zamislite si 100-odstotno udeležbo.

Picture 100 percent.

Zamislite si 100 odstotkov.

Mobilize 100 percent,

Mobilizirajte 100 odstotkov

and overnight, we get revolution.

pa bomo čez noč imeli revolucijo.

Overnight, the policy priorities of this country change dramatically,

Čez noč se bodo politične prioritete te države dramatično spremenile

and every level of government becomes radically more responsive

in vsak nivo vladanja bo radikalno bolj odziven

to all the people.

za vse ljudi.

What would it take to mobilize 100 percent?

Kako bi mobilizirali 100 odstotkov?

Well, we do have to push back against efforts afoot

Upreti se moramo poskusom

all across the country right now

po vsej državi,

to make voting harder.

da bi otežili glasovanje.

But at the same time,

Hkrati pa moramo aktivno ustvarjati pozitivno kulturo glasovanja,

we have to actively create a positive culture of voting

that people want to belong to,

ki ji bodo ljudje želeli pripadati,

be part of, and experience together.

biti del nje, jo izkusiti skupaj.

We have to make purpose.

Najti moramo namen.

We have to make joy.

Ustvariti moramo veselje.

So yes, let's have that revolution,

Ja, imejmo revolucijo,

a revolution of spirit, of ideas,

revolucijo duha, idej,

of policy and participation,

politike in sodelovanja,

a revolution against cynicism,

revolucijo proti cinizmu,

a revolution against the self-fulfilling sense of powerlessness.

proti samouresničujočemu se občutku nemoči.

Let's vote this revolution into existence,

Z glasovanjem ustvarimo revolucijo

and while we're at it,

in ko smo že pri tem,

let's have some fun.

tudi uživajmo.

Thank you very much.

Hvala lepa.

(Applause)

(aplavz)