Why bother? The game is rigged. My vote won't count. The choices are terrible. Voting is for suckers.
何必麻煩呢? 反正選舉被操縱了。 我的選票不算數。 候選人都很糟。 笨蛋才去投票。
Perhaps you've thought some of these things. Perhaps you've even said them. And if so, you wouldn't be alone, and you wouldn't be entirely wrong. The game of public policy today is rigged in many ways. How else would more than half of federal tax breaks flow up to the wealthiest five percent of Americans? And our choices indeed are often terrible. For many people across the political spectrum, Exhibit A is the 2016 presidential election. But in any year, you can look up and down the ballot and find plenty to be uninspired about.
也許你有過這些想法。 也許你甚至說過這樣的話。 如果這樣,你並不孤單, 你也不是完全錯的。 在許多面向上,現今的 公共政策是被操縱的沒錯。 不然怎麼會有一半以上的 聯邦所得稅寬減額 都跑到美國前 5% 最有錢的人那裡? 我們有的選擇通常也的確都很糟。 對許多人而言,不論政治傾向, 證物 A 就是 2016 總統大選。 但在任何一年, 你都可以看看候選人名單, 找到許多不鼓舞人的選擇。
But in spite of all this, I still believe voting matters. And crazy as it may sound, I believe we can revive the joy of voting. Today, I want to talk about how we can do that, and why.
僅管如此,我仍然相信 投票是有意義的。 雖然聽起來很瘋狂, 但我相信我們可以 重新恢復投票的喜悅。 今天我想談的是我們要如何 做到這點,以及為什麼。
There used to be a time in American history when voting was fun, when it was much more than just a grim duty to show up at the polls. That time is called "most of American history."
美國歷史上曾經有段時間, 投票是有趣的, 那時投票不只是一定要出現 在投票所的討厭義務。 那段時間叫做 「美國歷史上大部份的時間」。
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
From the Revolution to the Civil Rights Era, the United States had a vibrant, robustly participatory and raucous culture of voting. It was street theater, open-air debates, fasting and feasting and toasting, parades and bonfires. During the 19th century, immigrants and urban political machines helped fuel this culture of voting. That culture grew with each successive wave of new voters. During Reconstruction, when new African-American voters, new African-American citizens, began to exercise their power, they celebrated in jubilee parades that connected emancipation with their newfound right to vote. A few decades later, the suffragettes brought a spirit of theatricality to their fight, marching together in white dresses as they claimed the franchise. And the Civil Rights Movement, which sought to redeem the promise of equal citizenship that had been betrayed by Jim Crow, put voting right at the center. From Freedom Summer to the march in Selma, that generation of activists knew that voting matters, and they knew that spectacle and the performance of power is key to actually claiming power.
從革命到民權時代, 美國有種充滿生氣、 堅定參與、熱鬧的投票文化。 選舉期間有街頭戲劇、 露天辯論、禁食、盛宴和乾杯、 遊行和篝火。 在十九世紀,移民和都市政治機器 都助長了這種投票文化。 隨著一波接一波的新選民, 那文化不斷成長。 在美國重建時期, 新的非裔美國選民, 新的非裔美國公民, 開始行使他們的權力, 他們在狂歡遊行中慶祝, 把解放和他們新獲得的 投票權連結起來。 數十年後,女權運動者 把戲劇性的精神 帶到他們的戰鬥當中, 穿著白色一起遊行抗議, 索求其公民權。 還有民權運動, 目的是要兌現平等公民權的承諾, 因為吉姆克勞法案背叛了它, 而這些運動的中心就是投票。 從自由之夏到塞爾瑪的遊行抗議, 那一世代的激進分子 知道每一票都很重要, 他們也知道要能真正 獲得權力的關鍵在於 壯觀場面和權力的履行。
But it's been over a half century since Selma and the Voting Rights Act, and in the decades since, this face-to-face culture of voting has just about disappeared. It's been killed by television and then the internet. The couch has replaced the commons. Screens have made citizens into spectators. And while it's nice to share political memes on social media, that's a rather quiet kind of citizenship. It's what the sociologist Sherry Turkle calls "being alone together."
現在距離塞爾瑪遊行 及選舉法案已經半個世紀了, 而在那時代的幾十年過後, 投票的面對面文化 已經幾乎消失。 殺害它的兇手是電視, 接著是網路。 沙發取代了公共地。 螢幕讓市民變成了旁觀者。 在社交媒體上分享政治笑話是很好, 但那是種比較安靜的公民權。 這就是社會學家雪利特克爾 所謂的「在一起孤獨」。
What we need today is an electoral culture that is about being together together, in person, in loud and passionate ways, so that instead of being "eat your vegetables" or "do you duty," voting can feel more like "join the club" or, better yet, "join the party."
我們現今所需要的, 是一種選舉文化, 重點在於「在一起在一起」, 親身參與, 用大聲又熱情的方式,這麼一來, 投票的感覺就不是被逼著 「吃蔬菜」或「盡公民之責」, 而更像是「加入俱樂部」。 或更好的說法:「加入派對」。
Imagine if we had, across the country right now, in local places but nationwide, a concerted effort to revive a face-to-face set of ways to engage and electioneer: outdoor shows in which candidates and their causes are mocked and praised in broad satirical style; soapbox speeches by citizens; public debates held inside pubs; streets filled with political art and handmade posters and murals; battle of the band concerts in which competing performers rep their candidates. Now, all of this may sound a little bit 18th century to you, but in fact, it doesn't have to be any more 18th century than, say, Broadway's "Hamilton," which is to say vibrantly contemporary.
想像一下,如果現在在全國各地 每個當地地區, 都協商好要努力要恢復面對面的方式 來參與及從事競選活動: 戶外的活動,在這類活動中, 候選人和他們的理念 會被用很挖苦風格來嘲笑或讚賞; 公民在臨時表演臺上的演說; 在酒吧內舉辦的公開辯論; 滿是政治藝術、手做海報、 和壁畫的街道; 參賽者代表候選人的樂團音樂競賽。 你們可能覺得這些聽起來 像是十八世紀的東西, 但事實上,它並不需要比…比如 百老匯的《漢密爾頓》…更十八世紀, 它被認為是很鮮明的當代作品。
And the fact is that all around the world, today, millions of people are voting like this. In India, elections are colorful, communal affairs. In Brazil, election day is a festive, carnival-type atmosphere. In Taiwan and Hong Kong, there is a spectacle, eye-popping, eye-grabbing spectacle to the street theater of elections.
事實是,現今,全世界各地 有數百萬人都是用這種方式在投票。 在印度,選舉是 多采多姿的公共事務。 在巴西,選舉日是節慶, 有著嘉年華式的氣氛。 在台灣和香港,選舉的街頭戲劇 有著醒目又令人驚異 的壯觀場面。
You might ask, well, here in America, who has time for this? And I would tell you that the average American watches five hours of television a day. You might ask, who has the motivation? And I'll tell you, any citizen who wants to be seen and heard not as a prop, not as a talking point, but as a participant, as a creator.
你可能會問,在美國, 誰有時間做這些? 我會告訴各位, 美國人平均每天看電視五小時。 你可能會問,誰有動力這樣做? 我會告訴各位, 任何想要被看見、聽見的公民, 不是被當支持者,不是被當話題, 而是當參與者、當創造者。
Well, how do we make this happen? Simply by making it happen.
我們要如何讓這情況發生? 就是讓它發生。
That's why a group of colleagues and I launched a new project called "The Joy of Voting." In four cities across the United States -- Philadelphia, Miami, Akron, Ohio, and Wichita, Kansas -- we've gathered together artists and activists, educators, political folks, neighbors, everyday citizens to come together and create projects that can foster this culture of voting in a local way.
那就是為什麼我和一群同事 發起了一個新的專案計畫 叫「投票的喜悅」。 在美國的四個城市- 費城、邁阿密、 俄亥俄州的亞克朗市、 以及堪薩斯州的威奇托- 我們集結了藝術家、激進份子、 教育家、政治相關人士、 鄰居、日常公民, 一起合作來創造專案計畫, 來促成這個地方性方式投票的文化。
In Miami, that means all-night parties with hot DJs where the only way to get in is to show that you're registered to vote. In Akron, it means political plays being performed in the bed of a flatbed truck that moves from neighborhood to neighborhood. In Philadelphia, it's a voting-themed scavenger hunt all throughout colonial old town. And in Wichita, it's making mixtapes and live graffiti art in the North End to get out the vote. There are 20 of these projects, and they are remarkable in their beauty and their diversity, and they are changing people. Let me tell you about a couple of them.
在邁阿密,這就意味著 整晚的派對搭配紅牌 DJ, 只有已登記投票的人才能入場。 在亞克朗,這意味著政治劇 在平板拖車的平板上演出, 拖車則在鄰坊間巡迴。 在費城, 是在整個殖民老鎮中 玩投票主題的尋寶遊戲。 在威奇托,則是在北區做音樂合輯 以及現場塗鴉藝術,來鼓勵投票。 有二十個專案計畫, 它們的妙處和多樣性都很了不起, 它們在改變人。 讓我告訴各位其中幾個例子。
In Miami, we've commissioned and artist, a young artist named Atomico, to create some vivid and vibrant images for a new series of "I voted" stickers. But the thing is, Atomico had never voted. He wasn't even registered. So as he got to work on creating this artwork for these stickers, he also began to get over his sense of intimidation about politics. He got himself registered, and then he got educated about the upcoming primary election, and on election day he was out there not just passing out stickers, but chatting up voters and encouraging people to vote, and talking about the election with passersby.
在邁阿密,我們委託了一位藝術家, 一位年輕藝術家,名叫亞湯米可, 請他為一系列新的「我已投票」 貼紙來創作生動鮮明的影像。 但重點是,亞湯米可從來沒有投票過。 他甚至沒有登記。 所以因為他得要為這些貼紙來創作, 他也開始克服政治帶給他的威嚇感。 他去做了登記, 接著他接受了關於 即將進行之初選的教育, 在選舉日,他不只出去發貼紙, 還和投票者親切交談, 鼓勵人們去投票, 和路人談論選舉。
In Akron, a theater company called the Wandering Aesthetics has been putting on these pickup truck plays. And to do so, they put out an open call to the public asking for speeches, monologues, dialogues, poems, snippets of anything that could be read aloud and woven into a performance. They got dozens of submissions. One of them was a poem written by nine students in an ESL class, all of them Hispanic migrant workers from nearby Hartville, Ohio. I want to read to you from this poem. It's called "The Joy of Voting."
在亞克朗,一間叫 「漂泊美感」的劇院公司 一直在演映一些小貨車劇。 為了做這些,他們公開向大眾喊話, 請求大家提供演說、 獨白、對話、詩、 任何可以被大聲朗讀出來 並編成戲劇的素材。 他們收到許多人提交的作品。 其中一件是一首詩, 是由英語課的九個學生所寫的, 他們都是西班牙移民的工作者, 來自附近俄亥俄州的哈特維爾。 我想把這首詩讀給大家聽。 它叫「投票的喜悅」。
"I would like to vote for the first time because things are changing for Hispanics. I used to be afraid of ghosts. Now I am afraid of people. There's more violence and racism. Voting can change this. The border wall is nothing. It's just a wall. The wall of shame is something. It's very important to vote so we can break down this wall of shame. I have passion in my heart. Voting gives me a voice and power. I can stand up and do something."
「我第一次想要去投票, 因為對西班牙人而言,改變在發生。 我以前會害怕鬼。 現在我害怕的是人。 人有更多的暴力和種族主義。 投票能改變這個狀況。 邊界的牆不值得注意。 它只是一道牆。 羞恥的牆就值得注意了。 投票非常重要, 這樣我們才能拆掉羞恥的牆。 我的心中有著熱情。 投票給予我聲音和力量。 我可以站起來做出行動。」
"The Joy of Voting" project isn't just about joy. It's about this passion. It's about feeling and belief, and it isn't just our organization's work. All across this country right now, immigrants, young people, veterans, people of all different backgrounds are coming together to create this kind of passionate, joyful activity around elections, in red and blue states, in urban and rural communities, people of every political background. What they have in common is simply this: their work is rooted in place.
「投票的喜悅」計畫 重點並不只是喜悅。 它的重點是這種熱情。 它的重點是感受和信念, 它不只是我們這個組織的工作。 現在,全國各地的 移民、年輕人、退伍軍人、 各種不同背景的人, 都一起合作創造這種 關於選舉的熱情、 喜悅的活動, 不論偏紅或偏藍的州、 市區和鄉村社區, 各種政治背景的人都參與了。 他們的共同點很單純,就是: 他們所做的都根植在地方。
Because remember, all citizenship is local. When politics becomes just a presidential election, we yell and we scream at our screens, and then we collapse, exhausted. But when politics is about us and our neighbors and other people in our community coming together to create experiences of collective voice and imagination, then we begin to remember that this stuff matters. We begin to remember that this is the stuff of self-government.
因為,切記,所有的 公民權都是地方性的。 當政治變成只是總統選舉時, 我們對著螢幕大叫大喊, 接著我們崩潰了、累壞了。 但當政治變成是讓我們、 我們的鄰居,和社區中的其他人 同心協力一起創造 集體聲音和想像的經驗時, 我們就會開始記起它的重要性。 我們會開始記得,這就是自治。
Which brings me back to where I began. Why bother? There's one way to answer this question. Voting matters because it is a self-fulfilling act of belief. It feeds the spirit of mutual interest that makes any society thrive. When we vote, even if it is in anger, we are part of a collective, creative leap of faith. Voting helps us generate the very power that we wish we had.
這就回到一開始的問題。 何必麻煩呢? 這個問題,有種方式可以回答。 投票是有意義的, 因為它是信念的自我實現行為。 它支撐著相互利益的精神, 而正是這種精神讓社會興盛。 當我們投票時,即使是出於憤怒而投, 我們也是那個做出 信心一躍的集體的一部份。 投票協助我們產生出 我們希望能擁有的力量。
It's no accident that democracy and theater emerged around the same time in ancient Athens. Both of them yank the individual out of the enclosure of her private self. Both of them create great public experiences of shared ritual. Both of them bring the imagination to life in ways that remind us that all of our bonds in the end are imagined, and can be reimagined.
在古雅典,民主和戲劇 大約在同時期出現,並不是巧合。 兩者都把人們從他們 個人的圍欄中給拉出來。 兩者都創造了很棒的公眾經驗, 共同儀式的經驗。 兩者都讓想像能活起來, 提醒我們,我們所有的束縛 最終都只是想像的, 因此能夠被重新想像。
This moment right now, when we think about the meaning of imagination, is so fundamentally important, and our ability to take that spirit and to take that sense that there is something greater out there, is not just a matter of technical expertise. It's not just a matter of making the time or having the know-how. It is a matter of spirit.
現在這個時刻, 當我們去思考一下想像的意義, 它在根本上的重要性非常高, 而我們能夠擁有那種精神的能力, 意識到外面還有 更偉大的東西的能力, 並不只是技術專長的問題。 它不只是騰出時間 或擁有知識的問題。 它是精神的問題。
But let me give you an answer to this question, "Why bother?" that is maybe a little less spiritual and a bit more pointed. Why bother voting? Because there is no such thing as not voting. Not voting is voting, for everything that you may detest and oppose. Not voting can be dressed up as an act of principled, passive resistance, but in fact not voting is actively handing power over to those whose interests are counter to your own, and those who would be very glad to take advantage of your absence. Not voting is for suckers.
對於「何必麻煩呢?」這個問題, 讓我給各位一個答案。 這個答案可能比較不是 精神性的,比較尖銳一點。 何必麻煩去投票呢? 因為沒有所謂「不投票」這件事。 不投票就是一種投票, 投給你所厭惡、反對的一切。 不投票可以被包裝成 有原則之被動抗拒的行為, 但事實上,不投票 就是主動把權力交給 那些利益和你相反的人, 那些會非常高興你不出席 讓他們能佔你便宜的人。 笨蛋才不去投票。
Imagine where this country would be if all the folks who in 2010 created the Tea Party had decided that, you know, politics is too messy, voting is too complicated. There is no possibility of our votes adding up to anything. They didn't preemptively silence themselves. They showed up, and in the course of showing up, they changed American politics. Imagine if all of the followers of Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders had decided not to upend the political status quo and blow apart the frame of the previously possible in American politics. They did that by voting.
想像一下這個國家會變什麼樣子, 如果在 2010 年茶黨的創建人 覺得政治太亂七八糟了, 投票太複雜了。 我們的投票不可能 有機會造成任何影響。 但他們並沒有先讓自己沉默。 他們露面了, 在他們露面的這個過程中, 他們改變了美國政治。 想像唐納川普 和伯尼桑德斯的所有追隨者 都決定不要顛覆政治現況, 並打破美國政治上本來 有可能的架構。 他們是透過投票辦到的。
We live in a time right now, divided, often very dark, where across the left and the right, there's a lot of talk of revolution and the need for revolution to disrupt everyday democracy. Well, here's the thing: everyday democracy already gives us a playbook for revolution. In the 2012 presidential election, young voters, Latino voters, Asian-American voters, low-income voters, all showed up at less than 50 percent. In the 2014 midterm elections, turnout was 36 percent, which was a 70-year low. And in your average local election, turnout hovers somewhere around 20 percent.
我們現在生活的時代 是分裂的,且經常是很黑暗的, 不論左派或右派, 都有很多關於革命的言論, 以及需要革命來阻止日常民主的言論。 重點是這個: 日常民主已經給了我們革命的劇本。 在 2012 總統大選時, 年輕投票者、拉丁裔投票者、 亞裔美國人投票者、低收入投票者、 出來投票的都不到半數。 在 2014 中期選舉,出席率是 36%, 這是七十年來的新低。 在一般的地方選舉, 出席率大約在 20% 上下。
I invite you to imagine 100 percent. Picture 100 percent. Mobilize 100 percent, and overnight, we get revolution. Overnight, the policy priorities of this country change dramatically, and every level of government becomes radically more responsive to all the people. What would it take to mobilize 100 percent? Well, we do have to push back against efforts afoot all across the country right now to make voting harder. But at the same time, we have to actively create a positive culture of voting that people want to belong to, be part of, and experience together. We have to make purpose. We have to make joy.
我想請各位想像一下 100%。 描繪一下 100%。 若能動員 100%, 我們就能在一夕之間造成革命。 一夕之間,這個國家的 政治優先順序就會有顯著改變, 每個層級的政府都要很徹底地 對所有人更負責。 要怎麼做才能動員 100%? 我們得要去阻止現在全國各地 在進行中的那些讓投票 更困難的事。 同時, 我們得要主動創造投票的正面文化, 讓人們想要隸屬這種文化, 想成為它的一部份,想一起體驗它。 我們得要創造目的。 我們得要創造喜悅。
So yes, let's have that revolution, a revolution of spirit, of ideas, of policy and participation, a revolution against cynicism, a revolution against the self-fulfilling sense of powerlessness. Let's vote this revolution into existence, and while we're at it, let's have some fun.
所以,是的,咱們來革命吧, 關於精神、想法、 政策及參與的革命。 對抗憤世嫉俗的革命, 對抗無權之自我實感的革命。 咱們用投票讓這個革命能成真, 且當我們這麼做時, 也要找點樂子。
Thank you very much.
非常謝謝。
(Applause)
(掌聲)