Democracy is not total freedom

By Solita Sarwono

THE HAGUE (JP): As the traffic light turns green, the pedestrians start crossing the street. Suddenly, a car speeds through the red light and the pedestrians stop mid road. The policeman blows his whistle but is too late to chase the speeding car with his motorcycle.

In another instance motorists drive through a street oblivious of its no-entry sign. When halted by a policeman, a driver bribes the officer and he is allowed to go on.

In a park people build cafes and when an official inquires about the permit for building the cafe, the owner gets angry and accuses the official of being a communist and anti-democracy.

Sound familiar? These are the scenes in Tirana, Albania although they might remind us of happenings in Indonesia too.

After a half century of strict control by the communist regime, Albanians are enjoying "democracy", which to them means freedom.

Apparently, people in Albania perceive democracy as the freedom to speak and do anything just as they please. They demand their wishes and rights be fulfilled but show little consideration of other people's needs and rights.

If somebody objects or criticizes them, they take offense and accuse the person of being a communist. They just ignore the reasons behind the objection or criticism. What matters to them is that they can get what they want.

In Jakarta, students rally on the main streets, blocking the traffic and disturbing the daily activities of thousands of other citizens in their demands for political reform.

And if someone shows disagreement with these demonstrations because they disturb the people's life and the economy, he or she will be accused of being anti-reform. Students who stay in the classroom to continue their study and do not take part in the demonstrations are called anti-reform, too.

When somebody of Chinese origin does something that can be misinterpreted as discriminating against the Moslems or the pribumi (natives), this person and his family will be attacked by angry villagers, his business and property looted and destroyed. And when the authorities arrive to protect the victims and to restore peace, the mob will get mad at them and accuse them of being anti-reform.

The similarity between the Albanian and Indonesian situations is that both countries were under strict control for too long. Individual rights and freedom were very limited and even ignored.

Disagreements, objections and individual initiatives had to be repressed, as showing them would mean being punished or alienated. People have become submissive. Under the communist regime Albanians lost their creativity and initiative to take action. Once this valve of repression is opened, all the tensions shoot out, sometimes without control.

In joy, euphoria and anger, people tend to lose their self- control and self-discipline. They want to say anything they have in mind and do anything they like. In so doing they tend to violate the laws and regulations. They see regulations as a means for controlling and restricting others rather than for maintaining order. To them a free world is a world without rules. Freedom is the essence of democracy. Therefore, they think that in a democratic society one need not follow any rules.

Is their perception right? Now let us see how democracy is practiced in a country having a long democratic history, like the Netherlands. Freedom of speech is guaranteed. Anybody may criticize the ministers or politicians in public or in the mass media.

Children may express their objections to parents and teachers. Individual rights are given a high priority. No one can forbid you to walk nude along the beach. Homosexuals are treated the same way as heterosexuals. They can develop their career up to the level of minister or director of a multinational company. Their need to build a family is recognized and hence they are allowed to live together, even to marry their homo-partners and adopt children.

It looks all so nice and easy. Indeed, life in the Netherlands is comfortable and the environment is clean. It is not so easy, however, to maintain this comfortable environment. Life is regulated by hundreds of laws and rules.

In demanding his rights, a person must respect other people's rights. If you want to buy train tickets at a counter, you will have to queue.

If you want to express your objections to your parents or to criticize a politician, you will have to learn how to state those objections and criticisms without making your parents and the politicians angry. At a very young age children have to learn discipline and obey rules set by adults. One must know how to play the game of democracy.

If a person wants to take action to get what he likes, he must think how his action might affect other people. John had been drinking quite a lot of wine at a party and he wanted to drive home because he liked driving. But his friends advised him not to drive since this would endanger his passengers and other people on the street. John objected but his friends put him on the back seat and he was driven home safely.

Another example. You want to live in a clean and healthy environment. Then you should not throw your trash on the streets or in the creek and let other people clean it up.

In the Netherlands the garbage is separated out into vegetables and foodstuff, paper, plastic, glass and cans for recycling. The people obediently separate their household trash accordingly and take it to special recycling points. And when one wants to sell food on the sidewalk or open a catering tent, one needs to get a business permit and have a license to operate a "horeca" (hotel, restaurant and cafe) business.

Only on special occasions, like on the Queen's birthday, are people allowed to sell food and goods on the streets and in the parks without permit or license. Of course not everyone always obey the rules. Diverse control systems (social control, fines, and regular checking) applied consistently, however.

Democracy implies responsibility and maturity. The Dutch government takes the responsibility of guaranteeing democracy to its people. People have the right to take part in and be informed of the decision-making process in government. The right to vote in elections at local, national, even at the European levels is given to all Dutch citizens aged 18 and above.

Everyone, including tourists, can come and watch the parliament in session. Through these debates people can see how the members of parliament handle societal issues.

Another example: to respect the rights of privacy of prisoners, any prison cell may not be occupied by more than one prisoner. With the rising crime rate, though, the Ministry of Justice is having trouble applying this regulation because the available cells are quickly filled up. This results in a tendency to give a relatively short sentences.

Democracy is not equal to total freedom or a rule-free situation. On the contrary, discipline and order is implied in democracy. Democracy needs good planning, maturity and wisdom.

Acting hedonistically (just pleasing one's self) at the expense of others is not democratic. Acting purely on impulse is childish. As a child grows older and becomes more mature, it learns to control its impulses and to accept the consequences of its actions. The Dutch government makes hundreds of rules and regulations to keep order, safety and comfort in societal life. But it also provides systems, tools and facilities to support the implementation of these regulations and mechanisms to enforce the laws and rules. This all costs money but it is part of the game and it is the implied consequence of the action.

Now let us look at our country, Indonesia. In the reform era the people of Indonesia demand democracy. But is Indonesia ready for democracy? What is democracy? How far can it go? Is a free press democracy? How far may the press criticize the government or individuals? How much news and pictures of the violence during the riots can the press present to the public? What are the implications of this news to the people on the streets? Who is going to take responsibility for the reactions triggered by the media news?

Democracy requires a long learning process. All parties have to learn. On the one hand, the government needs to learn to share power and delegate its authority to the people. A clear set of guidelines, if not rules, is needed to play the game of democracy. The government needs to set up these rules and develop mechanisms to enforce them, while at the same time guaranteeing individual rights. On the other hand, the people, be they politicians, students or youth, need to learn and obey the rules of the game. One needs to learn expressing one's opinion in an acceptable manner. Otherwise, "democracy" will only lead to anarchy and chaos, such as we have seen in Java, Ambon, East Timor and many other places.

The Netherlands has been practicing democracy for hundreds of years. Indonesia has just begun. We still have a long way to go. But we should not be discouraged. The ball of democracy has started to roll and we must keep it rolling.

The writer is a sociologist and psychologist based in the Netherlands.