{"id":548,"date":"2014-12-01T02:16:37","date_gmt":"2014-12-01T02:16:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/zacharybaiel.com\/blog\/?p=548"},"modified":"2015-02-04T21:35:15","modified_gmt":"2015-02-05T01:35:15","slug":"tedxlafayette-everything-we-do-and-dont-do-is-political","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zacharybaiel.com\/blog\/2014\/12\/01\/tedxlafayette-everything-we-do-and-dont-do-is-political\/","title":{"rendered":"TEDxLafayette &#8211; Everything We Do and Don&#8217;t Do is Political"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/171flckdKic\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Thank you to everyone involved with the inaugural TEDxLafayette event.\u00a0 Another fine chapter for the annuals of Tippecanoe history.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">&#8220;Don&#8217;t limit your political life to the ballot box.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Last week, I was afforded the opportunity to speak at the inaugural <a href=\"http:\/\/tedxlafayette.com\/\">TEDxLafayette<\/a> event that took place on November 22nd in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lafayettecivic.org\/\">Civic Theater&#8217;s<\/a> lovely Historic Monon Depot Theater.<\/p>\n<p>I was asked to participate and give a talk that was tentatively titled, <em>The disappearing voter: Does anyone care about democracy or democratic processes?\u00a0 <\/em>The title as arranged was in need of orchestration and quickly explored the concepts of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/search?q=disappearing+voter\">disappearing voter<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Commons\">caring<\/a> for <a href=\"http:\/\/www.dict.org\/bin\/Dict?Form=Dict2&amp;Database=*&amp;Query=democracy\">democracy<\/a> and its <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Democracy\">processes<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Civic_engagement\">civic participation<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.indystar.com\/story\/news\/2014\/11\/12\/nobody-voted-less-indiana\/18923777\/\">voting<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.dict.org\/bin\/Dict?Form=Dict2&amp;Database=*&amp;Query=constituent\">subtly of the constituency<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=3-son3EJTrU\">mutual knowledge<\/a>, and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nyu.edu\/classes\/keefer\/hell\/camus.html\">Sisyphus<\/a>.\u00a0 The title I settled upon after much internal debate was <em>Everything We Do and Don&#8217;t Do is Political.<\/em> Thanks <a href=\"http:\/\/plato.stanford.edu\/entries\/sartre\/\">Sartre<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/zacharybaiel.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/IMG_20141120_212855.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-564\" src=\"http:\/\/zacharybaiel.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/IMG_20141120_212855-940x940.jpg\" alt=\"Creating TEDxLafayette Zines\" width=\"228\" height=\"228\" srcset=\"https:\/\/zacharybaiel.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/IMG_20141120_212855-940x940.jpg 940w, https:\/\/zacharybaiel.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/IMG_20141120_212855-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/zacharybaiel.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/IMG_20141120_212855-580x580.jpg 580w, https:\/\/zacharybaiel.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/IMG_20141120_212855.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 228px) 100vw, 228px\" \/><\/a>For the event, I also created a small zine to distribute with the TEDxLafayette material.\u00a0 There was a problem with the copy room where I make copies, and I needed to come back later in the week.\u00a0 Running short on time Friday, I had to staple the remainder of the zines at Myrdene&#8217;s.<\/p>\n<p>Media is a major component when engaging politically, and with modern technology, any individual can make informative, fun political expressions and gestures.\u00a0 You can download, <a title=\"Everything is Political  We are our choices\" href=\"http:\/\/zacharybaiel.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/TEDxLafayette-Zine-2014-11-22.pdf\"><em>Everything is Political,\u00a0 We are our choices<\/em> <\/a>as a PDF:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/zacharybaiel.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/TEDxLafayette-Zine-Screenshot-2014-11-30.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-550\" src=\"http:\/\/zacharybaiel.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/TEDxLafayette-Zine-Screenshot-2014-11-30.jpg\" alt=\"TEDxLafayette - Everything We Do and Don't Do is Political Zine Screenshot\" width=\"804\" height=\"502\" srcset=\"https:\/\/zacharybaiel.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/TEDxLafayette-Zine-Screenshot-2014-11-30.jpg 804w, https:\/\/zacharybaiel.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/TEDxLafayette-Zine-Screenshot-2014-11-30-580x362.jpg 580w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 804px) 100vw, 804px\" \/><\/a>The overall experience was quite enjoyable.\u00a0 From the organizing individuals, to the other speakers and performers, to the audience, Civic Theater staff, media creators, and sponsors.\u00a0 Everyone lent an extremely valuable hand, making sure we had a successful TEDx to reference in the future.<\/p>\n<p>The event received some press from the Journal and Courier under the headline, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.jconline.com\/story\/news\/2014\/11\/22\/tedx-event-challenges-audience-think-local\/19415905\/\"><em>TEDx speakers challenge audience to think local<\/em><\/a>, and featured a few pull quotes from speakers Kris Taylor and Beth Carroll.\u00a0 I was also featured in the article:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>In his talk, titled \u201cEverything We Do or Don\u2019t Do is Political,\u201d Zachary Baiel, a civic-minded resident and director of customer relations at Spensa Technologies, challenged the audience to think beyond the ballot box.<\/p>\n<p>He said elections are not the only way constituents can engage in the political process.<\/p>\n<p>All aspects of community involvement, such as the \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.moseydownmain.com\/\">Mosey Down Main Street<\/a>\u201d festivals and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.westlafayette.in.gov\/department\/division.php?fDD=8-164\">local farmers markets<\/a>, are forums for political engagement, he explained.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The <a href=\"http:\/\/www.indystar.com\/\">Indy Star<\/a> reprinted the same article, but included a picture of me speaking in the print version:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/zacharybaiel.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/TEDxLafayette-IndyStar-2014-11-24.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-551 aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/zacharybaiel.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/TEDxLafayette-IndyStar-2014-11-24-940x1190.jpg\" alt=\"TEDxLafayette-IndyStar-2014-11-24\" width=\"284\" height=\"359\" srcset=\"https:\/\/zacharybaiel.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/TEDxLafayette-IndyStar-2014-11-24-940x1190.jpg 940w, https:\/\/zacharybaiel.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/TEDxLafayette-IndyStar-2014-11-24-580x734.jpg 580w, https:\/\/zacharybaiel.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/TEDxLafayette-IndyStar-2014-11-24.jpg 1111w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 284px) 100vw, 284px\" \/><\/a>WLFI also ran a story about the event titled <a href=\"http:\/\/wlfi.com\/2014\/11\/22\/spark-inspire-change-focus-at-tedxlafayette\/\">\u2018Spark.Inspire.Change\u2019 the focus at TEDxLafayette<\/a>, which also included some clips of Kris Taylor,\u00a0Keith Watson, and myself speaking:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/yc1608dY3Zc?list=UUyHX5j6cvdDlDFarayCObRA\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>My presentation can be read (visually) online.\u00a0 Although there isn&#8217;t much text to read, it is still an enjoyable walk-through.\u00a0 Thank you again to all the media producers (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jconline.com\/\">Journal and Courier<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/wbaa.org\">WBAA<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/wlfi.com\">WLFI<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/owengunn85.blogspot.com\/2010\/08\/emperors-new-clothes-book-illustrations.html\">Owen Gunn<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/zachmedler.blogspot.com\/\">Zach Meddler<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.purdueexponent.org\/city_state\/article_3e34fd6a-7d76-51ae-80ca-3e45295487db.html\">Aaron Bumgarner<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/instagram.com\/burritoking85\">Aaron Molden<\/a>,\u00a0 Thomas Kesler) and everyone else who helped make this presentation possible.<\/p>\n<p>If you would like for me to give this or a similar performance to you, a local civic group, or other people who are interested in learning more about becoming a political entrepreneur vs. a wait-for-it voter, please let me know.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/presentation\/d\/1oAwWHjrVP5woJxIhBxjpbIxlL2McEa6TTHyBwqPQnso\/embed?start=false&amp;loop=false&amp;delayms=5000\" width=\"480\" height=\"299\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>I was told that the videos of the various performances would be available some time in December.\u00a0 Once I get sent a link, I will include it on this post.<\/p>\n<p>I want to thank everyone again for the enjoyable, educational, and historic time.\u00a0 Lafayette needs local individuals to be involved, share ideas, and become their own media.<\/p>\n<p>Once momentum for a particular passion spreads across to a few others in the community, action becomes easier, and opportunities to change the world at the street, neighborhood, or city level can be celebrated rather than abhorred.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/zacharybaiel.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/TEDx-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-558\" src=\"http:\/\/zacharybaiel.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/TEDx-Poster.jpg\" alt=\"TEDx-Poster\" width=\"461\" height=\"703\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Thank you to everyone involved with the inaugural TEDxLafayette event.\u00a0 Another fine chapter for the annuals of Tippecanoe history. &#8220;Don&#8217;t limit your political life to&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":553,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48,52,30,78,43,67,88],"tags":[129,45,128,127,130],"class_list":["post-548","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education-2","category-ideas","category-participatory-culture","category-politics","category-presentations","category-theatre","category-zines","tag-politicking","tag-presentation","tag-tedx","tag-tedxlafayette","tag-zines-2","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zacharybaiel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/548","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zacharybaiel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zacharybaiel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zacharybaiel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zacharybaiel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=548"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/zacharybaiel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/548\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":626,"href":"https:\/\/zacharybaiel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/548\/revisions\/626"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zacharybaiel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/553"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zacharybaiel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=548"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zacharybaiel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=548"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zacharybaiel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=548"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}