Can we really feel others' suffering?

BANDUNG (JP): When Elvis Costello, a British poet and songwriter, saw a newspaper picture of a political campaign where Margaret Thatcher was kissing a street kid's face, he wrote: She spills with compassion, as that young child's face in her hands she grips. Can you imagine all that greed and avarice coming down on that child's lips.

He did not see it as a noble gesture from a lady who really cared about an unfortunate child whose biggest questions were where to sleep and what to eat that night, but simply as a shameless political act from a once prime minister to get public sympathy in order to get reelected. But who really knows what was in the PM's head? Maybe it was a sincere expression of a human being; maybe she really made up her mind after she met that child to make a better life for people like him if she got reelected. But then again, after all the (repulsive) facts that we know following some similar scenes like the one above, who can blame the poet for being so unbelieving?

The existence of poverty has become an annoyance for many people, just like when a street singer stages his unwanted performance at someone's car window. It annoys people in their comfortable state of living. It has always been a sideshow for most people as they go on with their lives. It's either ignored or considered a normal thing to exist but, once in a while, it becomes the center of attention, as if somebody was maintaining the condition to be exploited at special occasions, political campaigns, commercial ads, even a TV quiz show.

One soap manufacturing company got the idea to use orphans as its medium of advertising. Instead of using actors to say "buy our products", the company went from one foster home to another donating crampy-wrapped packages (later they use bamboo basket and clear cellophane) and said things like "to celebrate our 25th anniversary, we have a small gift for you", and broadcast it on TV every day. It was a small gift, indeed, for it only contained some soap, toothpaste and some cleaning products. And it is much cheaper than hiring actors to do regular commercials.

During the general election campaign period, politicians buttered their campaign popcorn with poverty issues. They even gave away some money to make people vote for them. They used people in the poverty circle as a political vehicle, then expected them to say thank you after being given two kilos of rice.

Poverty is no longer viewed as a state of individuals but as numbers and statistics which appears with images of slums and beggars that must be gotten rid of because they taint the good look of the cities. While the causes of poverty are distinct from one case to another, all politicians can do is make themselves look good by giving away food that will only last a few days.

Some people have to get their names in print when they give to charity. We can read about them in the newspaper daily. Some generous people give donations to victims of a big flood, refugees from riots in Ambon, and orphans, which is a decent thing to do. But they just have to have their names on the donation lists, as if poverty is outside the pale of our moral obligation.

But that is still nothing compared to what some political parties allegedly did with a fund that is supposed to be given as loans to the poor. Claiming the fund that is already meant for the people as their money and threatening to cancel the loan if the people do not vote for their parties is one of the most shameless, cruel acts that has ever been committed by politicians. And in a country where no scandal is big enough to get the authorities attention, all we can do is wait for this disgusting affair to be solved. They said that they do not have enough proof, while many non-governmental organizations have already said that they will voluntarily assist the authorities with the data they already have.

We then tolerate this crime or make it less heavy doubly to our advantage. By doing this, we protect our sensibilities and preserve our self-esteem, to be able to still claim ourselves as citizens of a country where this type of crime can happen. Pessimists might say humanity is overrated. But if this kind of injustice cannot make anybody angry, I just don't now what can.

And when Elvis Costello wrote, Well, I hope I'll live longer now. I pray the Lord my soul to keep. Because when they put you to the ground, I'll stand on your grave and tramp the dirt down, to express his anger about scenes that happen over and over again, he expresses the feelings of many others. It doesn't take a poet to be disgusted by political crimes.

-- Jokoanwar Dekan