{
    "success": true,
    "data": {
        "id": 1292680,
        "msgid": "a-muddled-tale-indeed-1447893297",
        "date": "2000-03-30 00:00:00",
        "title": "A muddled tale indeed",
        "author": null,
        "source": "JP",
        "tags": null,
        "topic": null,
        "summary": "A muddled tale indeed In his letter published in The Jakarta Post on March 29, 2000, titled A muddled tale, Y. Santo claims I overlooked a few basic facts. Rest assured I did not, and I surely do not need to watch romanticized movies to realize the \"Dutch\" became filthy rich at the expense of their colonies. But my point was that they were not the only culprits in our colonial history. Muddling this message with the religious context of that time will make that message more difficult to grasp.",
        "content": "<p>A muddled tale indeed<\/p>\n<p>In his letter published in The Jakarta Post on March 29, 2000,<br>\ntitled A muddled tale, Y. Santo claims I overlooked a few basic<br>\nfacts. Rest assured I did not, and I surely do not need to watch<br>\nromanticized movies to realize the \"Dutch\" became filthy rich at<br>\nthe expense of their colonies. But my point was that they were<br>\nnot the only culprits in our colonial history. Muddling this<br>\nmessage with the religious context of that time will make that<br>\nmessage more difficult to grasp. But since Y. Santo mentioned<br>\nthis context, I feel I should partially defend my ancestors<br>\nagain.<\/p>\n<p>The point I am making is that one cannot judge people without<br>\nsome reference to their frame of mind! Judging from your name --<br>\nY. Santo -- I assume you are a Catholic, which means you likely<br>\npray to the Virgin Mary and other saints. Many Protestants --<br>\nMuslims too -- claim this is a heathen custom that should be<br>\neradicated. In the unlikely event the Catholic Church has<br>\ndisappeared in 300 years from now and every earthling prays<br>\ndirectly to God, can they blame you for praying to saints? Can we<br>\nactually blame anybody for their misinterpretation of any<br>\nreligion?<\/p>\n<p>Y. Santo should realize that spreading the gospel through word<br>\nand sword in those days was an accepted practice that would<br>\nsurely reserve one's place in heaven. Similar dogmas are spread<br>\ntoday among the child-terrorists in the Middle East. Throughout<br>\nhuman history potentates abused their local religions to brutally<br>\nrule mankind in a similar manner. The greed for money and power<br>\ncan thus not be solely attributed to the Dutch; the events in<br>\nAceh, Maluku and East Timor prove Indonesians are just as capable<br>\nof it.<\/p>\n<p>Again, I do not condone the actions of my ancestors; in fact<br>\nmany fill me with a sense of shame! But I truly wonder if the<br>\narchipelago's atrocities would have been much different if they<br>\n-- and all other colonial powers -- had not been there! As to<br>\ndetermining who were the main culprits of that period, my<br>\nhistorical knowledge is just as insufficient as Chichi Marti's<br>\nand Y. Santo's. With this in mind, the \"holier than thou\"<br>\nblamestorms recently published in the Post have very little<br>\nfoundation.<\/p>\n<p>BART VAN ASSEN<\/p>\n<p>Bogor, West Java<\/p>",
        "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/a-muddled-tale-indeed-1447893297",
        "image": ""
    },
    "sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
    "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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