Finding true freedom by being a free spirit in all we do

"Are we going to discuss the Bali bombings over Christmas lunch?" exclaimed 12-year-old Jacqueline.

Her voice, with the sharpness of a blade, interrupted the adults talking about the horrors of the Bali bombings around the table in a home in a suburb of Sydney. A sudden silence fell over, before conversation slowly resumed on more mundane topics of food and Christmas pudding.

One of the adults looked at the girl lovingly and said, "She is right. Thank you, Jacqueline."

I sat with my fork in midair, mesmerized by the little scene that had just unfolded before my eyes. I wondered how this could happen, so easily, so spontaneously. How could a young girl -- probably still in elementary school -- open her mouth and clearly and forcefully state her opinion?

She spoke without hesitation and with feeling, going straight to the point to express her opinion that talk of violence, sadism, murder, slander and gossip were not appropriate topics of conversation around the Christmas dinner table.

I compared her to the legislators back here, trying to visualize their reaction in a similar situation. It was difficult to imagine, because it is so rare to see such spontaneity in this country.

What's more interesting was that those involved in the Bali bombings discussion -- the parents, uncles and aunts of the child -- were able to accept the rebuke without any sense of resentment for being reminded by a child of what is appropriate Christmas conversation.

The child did so without having to fear retaliation from the adults who would not, when they got her alone, call her to task for shaming them in front of their overseas guests.

Indeed, how could such freedom of spirit be chastised?

Questions kept rushing through my mind. How can such a culture be developed and fostered within the institution of the family? How can a child, without having to think twice about what she would like to say, open her mouth and say it?

There was not just the family at the table but also two foreign guests from Indonesia, including myself, that she had never met before. How could Jacqueline be so spontaneous?

More surprising, how could the adults change the topic of conversation after thanking her for the reminder? Is this what we mean by a free spirit, a really independent soul? Is this missing in my society, Indonesia, and is this the reason why the reform process has yet to bring any meaningful change?

I kept asking myself how such a critical mental attitude could be developed, with sharp and appropriate criticism, from someone so young.

I compared Jacqueline to my students at the university here where I teach. There are times when I reach my wit's end trying to stimulate them to ask questions, state their opinions, when they are submerged in our entrenched classroom culture: sit, listen, take notes, go home.

This is what happens with students at university; I am not even talking about society at large, let alone about Indonesian adolescents in general.

Will reform and change in our country only take place if our nation and our people become free spirits? Will it take developing the courage to speak the truth without fear of being labeled uncouth, of breaking unspoken "ethical" laws even by running the risk of being shunned by family and friends because of upsetting convention?

Could it be that only a free, independent spirit can make us a free and independent nation? And could it also be that without such a daring mental attitude, our people will always be the bumbling coolies of foreign masters?

-- Azwar Hasan