Eric Liu: There's no such thing as not voting
Eric Liu: Não existe essa história de não votar
Eric Liu is founder of Citizen University, which teaches the art of powerful citizenship, and the executive director of the Aspen Institute Citizenship & American Identity Program. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
algumas dessas coisas.
some of these things.
and you wouldn't be entirely wrong.
e não estaria inteiramente errado.
is rigged in many ways.
é manipulado de muitas maneiras.
of federal tax breaks
dos incentivos fiscais federais
five percent of Americans?
são por vezes terríveis.
across the political spectrum,
presidential election.
presidencial de 2016.
up and down the ballot
a cédula de cima a baixo
I still believe voting matters.
ainda acredito que importa votar.
a alegria de votar.
about how we can do that, and why.
como podemos fazer isso, e por quê.
in American history when voting was fun,
americana em que votar era divertido,
a grim duty to show up at the polls.
do que apenas uma tarefa tediosa.
"most of American history."
toda a História Americana".
to the Civil Rights Era,
and raucous culture of voting.
e baruhenta cultura eleitoral.
fasting and feasting and toasting,
jejuns, banquetes e brindes,
immigrants and urban political machines
e a máquina política urbana
successive wave of new voters.
sucessiva de novos eleitores
when new African-American voters,
eleitores afro-americanos,
with their newfound right to vote.
ao seu recém-descoberto direito ao voto.
of theatricality to their fight,
de teatralidade à sua luta,
as they claimed the franchise.
ao clamar por seu direito.
the promise of equal citizenship
por igualdade de cidadania
knew that voting matters,
sabia que votar é importante,
and the performance of power
e a demonstração de força
reivindicar poder.
since Selma and the Voting Rights Act,
desde Selma e a Lei de Direitos ao Voto,
citizens into spectators.
political memes on social media,
memes políticos nas redes sociais,
calls "being alone together."
chama de "estar juntos na solidão".
that is about being together together,
de estarmos juntos, juntos,
"eat your vegetables" or "do you duty,"
seus legumes" ou "cumpra seu dever",
de "junte-se ao clube",
across the country right now,
pelo país neste momento,
to revive a face-to-face set of ways
um jeito face a face
and their causes are mocked
e suas causas são debochadas
and handmade posters and murals;
de pôsteres feitos a mão e murais;
competing performers rep their candidates.
representam seus candidatos.
a little bit 18th century to you,
um pouco coisa do século 18 para você,
any more 18th century
ser do século 18
"Hamilton" da Broadway,
vividamente contemporâneo.
are voting like this.
estão votando assim.
communal affairs.
são um ato comum, vibrante.
is a festive, carnival-type atmosphere.
de atmosfera carnavalesca.
there is a spectacle,
here in America, who has time for this?
quem tem tempo pra isso?"
watches five hours of television a day.
assiste cinco horas de TV por dia.
quem tem motivação pra isso?
ser visto e ouvido
apenas para ter assunto,
called "The Joy of Voting."
chamado "O prazer em votar".
artists and activists,
neighbors, everyday citizens
vizinhos, cidadãos do cotidiano
of voting in a local way.
do voto de modo local.
all-night parties with hot DJs
a noite inteira com os melhores DJs
is to show that you're registered to vote.
é provando que você está apto a votar.
in the bed of a flatbed truck
to neighborhood.
all throughout colonial old town.
por toda a antiga cidade colonial.
mixtapes and live graffiti art
e grafitagem artística ao vivo
in their beauty and their diversity,
em sua beleza e diversidade,
for a new series of "I voted" stickers.
pra uma nova série de adesivos "Eu votei".
this artwork for these stickers,
na criação de arte para esses adesivos,
his sense of intimidation about politics.
que a política produzia nele.
about the upcoming primary election,
sobre a próxima eleição primária,
not just passing out stickers,
não apenas entregando adesivos,
and encouraging people to vote,
e encorajando-os a votar,
the election with passersby.
com os que passavam.
called the Wandering Aesthetics
chamada "Wandering Aesthetics"
these pickup truck plays.
an open call to the public
diretamente ao público,
monologues, dialogues, poems,
monólogos, diálogos, poemas,
that could be read aloud
ser lido em voz alta
de um curso de inglês,
esse muro da vergonha.
isn't just about joy.
não é apenas sobre alegria.
da nossa organização.
people of all different backgrounds
pessoas de diferentes vivências
this kind of passionate, joyful activity
atividades alegres e apaixonadas
in urban and rural communities,
nas comunidades rurais e urbanas,
all citizenship is local.
just a presidential election,
apenas uma eleição presidencial,
and then we collapse, exhausted.
e terminamos ficando exaustos.
and other people in our community
em nossa comunidade,
of collective voice and imagination,
de voz e imaginação coletivas,
that this stuff matters.
que isso importa.
that this is the stuff of self-government.
que isso tem a ver com autogoverno.
a self-fulfilling act of belief.
de crença auto-realizadora.
that makes any society thrive.
que faz qualquer cidade prosperar.
creative leap of faith.
e coletivo salto de fé.
the very power that we wish we had.
que gostaríamos de ter.
that democracy and theater
in ancient Athens.
na antiga Atenas.
out of the enclosure of her private self.
da prisão de seu eu particular.
public experiences of shared ritual.
públicas de ritual compartilhado.
that all of our bonds in the end
que, no fim, todos os nossos laços
the meaning of imagination,
significado de imaginação,
of technical expertise.
de especialidade técnica.
or having the know-how.
ou de ter o know-how.
to this question, "Why bother?"
"Por que me importar?"
and a bit more pointed.
e um pouco mais concreto.
no such thing as not voting.
essa história de não votar.
may detest and oppose.
detestar e se opor.
passive resistance,
de resistência passiva,
are counter to your own,
são contrários aos seus,
to take advantage of your absence.
em tirar vantagem da sua ausência.
created the Tea Party
criaram o "Tea Party"
you know, politics is too messy,
política dá trabalho,
of our votes adding up to anything.
sirvam para alguma coisa.
silence themselves.
they changed American politics.
a política americana.
of Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders
de Donald Trump e Bernie Sanders
the political status quo
o status quo político
of the previously possible
anteriormente possível
there's a lot of talk of revolution
fala-se muito em revolução
to disrupt everyday democracy.
para melhorar a democracia cotidiana.
gives us a playbook for revolution.
um manual para a revolução.
eleitores de baixa renda,
turnout was 36 percent,
compareceram apenas 36%,
somewhere around 20 percent.
nós teríamos a revolução.
of this country change dramatically,
deste país mudariam drasticamente,
becomes radically more responsive
radicalmente mais comunicativo
to mobilize 100 percent?
para mobilizar 100%?
against efforts afoot
contra esforços em progresso
a positive culture of voting
uma cultura eleitoral positiva
sense of powerlessness.
a sensação de incapacidade.
essa revolução uma realidade,
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Eric Liu - Civics educatorEric Liu is founder of Citizen University, which teaches the art of powerful citizenship, and the executive director of the Aspen Institute Citizenship & American Identity Program.
Why you should listen
Eric Liu is an author, educator and civic entrepreneur. He is the founder and CEO of Citizen University, which promotes and teaches the art of great citizenship through a portfolio of national programs, and the executive director of the Aspen Institute Citizenship and American Identity Program.
Liu's books include the national bestsellers The Gardens of Democracy, and The True Patriot, co-authored with Nick Hanauer. His most recent book is A Chinaman's Chance, published in July, 2014. His first book, The Accidental Asian: Notes of a Native Speaker, was a New York Times Notable Book featured in the PBS documentary "Matters of Race." His other books include Guiding Lights: How to Mentor – and Find Life's Purpose, the Official Book of National Mentoring Month; and Imagination First, co-authored with Scott Noppe-Brandon of the Lincoln Center Institute, which explores ways to unlock imagination in education, politics, business and the arts.
Liu served as a White House speechwriter for President Bill Clinton and later as the President's deputy domestic policy adviser. After the White House, he was an executive at the digital media company RealNetworks. In 2002 he was named one of the World Economic Forum’s Global Leaders of Tomorrow, and in 2010 he was awarded the Bill Grace Leadership Legacy Award by the Center for Ethical Leadership.
Liu lives in Seattle, where he teaches civic leadership at the University of Washington and hosts Citizen University TV, a television program about civic power. In addition to speaking regularly at venues across the country, he also serves on numerous nonprofit and civic boards. He is the co-founder of the Washington Alliance for Gun Responsibility. A board member of the Corporation for National and Community Service, he is a graduate of Yale College and Harvard Law School.
Eric Liu | Speaker | TED.com