Toward more open society<\/p>\n
The prominent poet, Rendra, recently dismissed a widely held
\nbelief that democracy has no traditional roots in our society as
\nan irrelevant question.<\/p>\n
Such a belief implies that democracy does not have fertile
\nground to grow in this country and gives rise to an attitude
\nwhich endorses shrugging off responsibility for undemocratic
\nbehavior by branding the cries for democracy as western
\ninfluenced or not in line with Indonesia's values.<\/p>\n
During a cultural meeting last month in the Central Java town
\nof Mendut, talk at times touched on the question that perhaps
\nthis nation has difficulties absorbing new values, including
\ndemocracy due to its tendency to glorify the past.<\/p>\n
Rendra attributed these difficulties to our obsession with
\nachieving high social status instead of cultural advancement. For
\ninstance, members of political parties are more likely to busy
\nthemselves with matters that could put them in high level
\nbureaucratic positions rather than improving the quality of life
\nof the people.<\/p>\n
As early as 1960, Mohammad Hatta, our founding father, wrote
\nin his book Demokrasi Kita (Our Democracy), that democracy does
\nhave its roots in the nation.<\/p>\n
However, democracy which has become an international
\ncatchword, has found its \"mechanical\" implementation in a number
\nof countries, for instance, in Latin America. This is lamentable,
\nas in this form of practice, democracy becomes a tyranny of the
\nmajority over the minority.<\/p>\n
Our situation is not as bad as that in those countries. The
\nvery existence of public debate on a number of issues, such as
\nthe Liquisa incident, the recalling of members of the
\nlegislature, and the case of the controversial psychic, Permadi,
\nis a proof of that.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, fear over whether or not our democracy can also
\nbecome \"mechanical\" should drive us all to be really sincere in
\nour efforts to create an open society. Rendra likens it to a
\nstruggle in the field of culture. The goals of which are to be
\nmore ready to agree to disagree and to be more open to criticism,
\nchanges and progress.<\/p>\n
-- Kompas, Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/toward-more-open-society-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }