End of racism
It is very hard to believe that the once rebel against shameful apartheid politics, who spent 27 years of his life in jail, has taken the oath of office as the new, black president of South Africa.
A miracle finally has come. The uniting of multiracial South Africans, under the legendary and tireless fighter, Nelson Mandela.
People who have survived the long-time tyranny can feel the thrill of the black South Africans who have experienced three centuries of oppression due to white domination.
Being black or colored is nobody's choice, it is just a matter of genetics. Therefore, judging people by their skin color is a kind of primitive judgment. However, being black or colored in South Africa is a most dreadful experience.
While racism, the prejudicial barrier is being dismantled, it is now the turn of black people of South Africa to enjoy living as human beings on an equal footing in their very own land. Nkosi Sikelele i'Afika (God bless Africa).
WAHYUNI RIZKIANA KAMAH
Jakarta
Nixon and McCarthy
I'd like to thank Alex Wolvesperges for his letter of May 18, 1994, attacking Byron Black's May 3 "Listening Post" article about Richard Nixon, because it inspired me to spend a pleasant hour in the American Cultural Center library, where I checked some of the facts about Nixon that Mr. Wolvesperges so distorted. Of particular interest was the Encyclopedia of American Political History (1984), in which Nixon is discussed in articles on Conspiracy and Conspiracy Theories," by W. W. Freehling, and Control, Supervision, and Intimidation," by M. P. Rogin. (There was no separate article on "paranoia.")
Mr. Wolvesperges says in his letter, "Nixon was far from being a McCarthyist." This is an astonishing statement in light of the close connections between the political careers of Nixon and Joseph McCarthy.
First, since many of the Post's readers may be unfamiliar with American political history, it is necessary to say what McCarthyism was.
I refer to Freehling, who wrote: "The great period of ... conspiratorial rhetoric (in modern American politics) was, understandably, the first years of the Cold War.
"In the midst of the national realization that the Soviet Union was the enemy and that its spies were after our atomic secrets, the nation fell into an awful moment of seeing reds everywhere. Out of that moment grew McCarthy's obsessive red- baiting ... The politician who most soared initially on McCarthyite red-baiting (was) Richard Nixon ..."
"Red-baiting" was the practice of accusing people (often with little or no evidence) of being communists. Of having communist "sympathies," or of belonging to organizations supposedly connected to communism. Thousands of Americans in the 1940s and 1950s lost their careers because of vicious "smear" attacks made against them by McCarthy and his cronies.
Among the cronies was none other than Richard Nixon who started his attacks with his first political campaign in 1946 (four years before McCarthy himself joined the chase). In fact, Nixon was one of the "experts" who briefed McCarthy on the "red menace" in 1950.
One need look no further for an example of this despicable tactic than Mr. Wolvesperges' letter in which he first concocts a raucous chain of reasoning, that he challenges Mr. Black to accept and then hurls the old McCarthy mud by saying: "Or is it that Byron Black has communist sympathies?"
One would think that, with the end of the Cold War, we wouldn't have Karl Marx to kick around anymore, but this is still a mighty reckless charge to make against a person in Indonesia, which has very tough libel laws. Are you prepared to back it up in court, Mr. Wolvesperges?
I'd like to add that I do appreciate Mr. Iwan Satyanegara's letter of May 4 for its expression of friendship between the U.S. and Indonesia. However, I think the best friend Indonesia has had in the White House was not Nixon but Harry Truman, who strongly supported Indonesian independence over Dutch colonial interests.
I also must disagree with Mr. Black in his assessment of Nixon as the most "actively disliked" American President. Surely that distinction goes to Lincoln, who was detested to the point of military rebellion. The big difference between the politics of Lincoln and Nixon was that, while Nixon thrived on divisiveness, hatred, and racism, Lincoln strived to overcome them.
TIMOTHY C. JESSUP
Jakarta
Singapore's caning
Marshall D. Cromwell's letter to The Jakarta Post on May 13, 1994, was very interesting. He has a great idea of importing caning sticks to U.S.A. to help reduce the crime there.
Sometimes innocent people get the punishment for the crime they have not committed, then this kind of punishment becomes torture, but still there is no harm in trying to eradicate wrongdoing.
Singapore is an independent and most beautiful state and its International Airport Changi is the best in the world. For making their country like heaven, the credit goes to the Singaporeans and their strict laws. If someone will try to ruin their country, they deserve the punishment. Michael Fay seems to be a neglected child who needs attention. Now the whole world is paying attention, but only after he went to jail and received four strokes of the cane for throwing paint on several cars.
His parents are so busy jumping around and criticizing Singapore's strict laws, that they have failed to feel ashamed of their son's action. It seems they have never taught their son to respect the law and customs of the country where he was going to live for a few years.
President Clinton needs a salute not criticism for asking for clemency. He is a very busy man, but still he went out of his way to call the Singapore authorities and request clemency. After all he is a father of a teenager too and Michael, I suppose, is the first U.S. citizen to be caned, and, of course, to error is human.
Michael received four strokes of the cane instead of six because the Singapore authorities paid due respect to President Clinton's involvement in this case.
Michael's mother, however, has never used the word "sorry" for her son's behavior, or "thank you" to Singaporeans for reducing the punishment.
Anyway we hope the punishment will make Michael grow up into a good citizen of the world, and that millions of youngsters will learn a good lesson from this incident and will remember the saying, "When you are in Rome, do as the Romans do."
I am a U.S. citizen who is concerned about the growing trend toward crimes and violence among teenagers in the United States.
MRS. CHANDRA TERWAY
Cilacap, Central Java
Harmoko's version of openness?
From Jawa Pos
Minister of Information Harmoko talked about what he called "Indonesia's version of openness" recently and admitted it was totally different from the liberal system.
I think people will find it hard to understand the minister's version because it has no clear criteria.
Harmoko should not have set forward his own version of openness or democracy in the first place because Indonesia has an ideology, Pancasila, and the 1945 Constitution in which democracy or openness are imbued. And the ideology and the constitution are known and acknowledged as reflections of the aspirations of the people of this nation.
I hope that the 180 million Indonesian people will not be easily taken in by the political terminology of "openness" as it is defined and promoted by the government. It is obvious that such "openness" is more likely a reflection of the interests of government officials rather than an expression of their wisdom.
And it is important for everyone to remember that these officials lead this country through the people's mandate, so they should always heed the people's aspirations.
Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution provide the right guidance, not only for all the people, but also for the government.
RACHMAN DEDIEK
Bali
Sign language
From Suara Karya
The use of sign language for interpreting the broadcast on television for the deaf has drawn both positive and negative reactions. This is natural enough because everybody has their own needs and preferences, but the public should show tolerance in this matter.
Those who have healthy and normal families are really fortunate. And people should realize that it is nobody's desire to have deaf children. If that happens, we can do nothing but to accept our fate.
So, we hope that the people can appreciate the government's efforts to pay more attention to the less fortunate people -- the deaf. The gesture made by the television news programs will help the deaf gain more self-confidence in their daily lives.
It is time that society stopped mocking and ridiculing people who are different for some reason or another.
NINING BUDIWARNI
Jakarta