Independence and memory of the nation

Independence and memory of the nation

Thomas Hidya Tjaya
Jakarta

Fifty-nine years ago on Aug. 17, 1945, Sukarno and Hatta
proclaimed the independence of the Republic of Indonesia. They
did so on behalf of the people of the country, who had the same
deep desire for freedom.

Even though poorly attended, the event itself marked the
beginning of this country, paving the way for the making of a
nation that would be free from any form of slavery, which is
invariably dehumanizing. Convinced that freedom was a natural
right of every nation and human being, the founders of this
country urged the people to continue fighting against the return
of colonization in all its forms, lest they forgot the price of
the freedom to stand on their own.

That was almost six decades ago. How people today embrace and
maintain these ideals is worth reflecting on, particularly on the
occasion of Independence Day. Just as any anniversary always
brings us back to the original event, so the ideals of freedom
expressed decades ago need some focused attention on this special
day.

The danger for humans living in history is that with the
passing of time, we tend to forget where we come from, who we are
and where we are going. Engrossed in daily routines, we readily
accept what comes to us and begin to forget the ideals we should
bear in mind for the making of our future.

The tendency toward forgetfulness is particularly dangerous
when it comes to living together as a nation. When we forget what
we are actually striving for, we tend to do things to meet our
own short-term needs. Government officials may keep their
attention focused on what brings them benefit and not on what
people desperately need.

When the general election comes along, they will do their best
to secure the status quo against the efforts of other politicians
who try to jump on the wagon of power. In the meantime the needs
of ordinary people become neglected. As a result, people of this
country practically remain shackled under a different form of
colonization.

The freedom fought for and paid with the sweat and blood of
our ancestors is at stake. The heroic struggle for the whole
nation has turned into a disgraceful fight for personal and
limited interests. No wonder the celebration of the great event
has increasingly become lackluster, for precisely the spirit that
once formed and animated this nation has virtually disappeared.

It is very important, therefore, to keep our memory intact, a
memory that continues to remind us of our common bond and ideals
as a nation. Such recollection will tell us about our journey in
history and about how we have come together and realized our
dreams. Johann Baptist Metz, a theologian, loves to talk about
memory, which he sees as intrinsically linked to our nature as
historical beings.

Living in history makes full sense only when we make the best
use of our memory for the shaping of our future. Metz
specifically emphasizes the kind of memory that remembers not
only the successful but also the destroyed, not only what has
been actualized, but also what has been lost. In our personal
lives we tend to recall only good things that have happened to us
and push away bad experiences.

Likewise in political life the government tends to constantly
remind us of its wonderful achievements, ignoring the many
failures that have affected the lives of many people: justice
undelivered, abuses uncorrected, laws ignored and many others.
Such a tendency is the work of a bad memory.

A good and healthy memory will retain both the positive and
negative sides of life. Ignoring and denying negative experiences
will surely result in an unbalanced personality as well as a
distorted image of oneself. To avoid this, one has to come to
terms with the experience of negativity and eventually embrace it
wholeheartedly.

The recognition of both achievements and failures in our own
personal history is necessary if we want to live a healthy life.
Likewise, a healthy nation can be measured by its ability and
audacity to embrace its past, both the good and the bad, the
beautiful and the ugly. This way we can resist the triumphalism
of merely the positive elements, that is, our successes and
achievements. For we continue to carry within us not only what
still remains intact or even flourishes, but also what has been
destroyed and lost.

Such memories are definitely dangerous, and Metz acknowledges
this. When one recalls what has gone -- lives lost, properties
stolen or destroyed -- one's imagination doesn't simply stay
there but rather roams around trying to find an appropriate
response to it. All this may lead one to particular actions. In
such memories earlier experiences break through to the center
point of one's life and reveal new and dangerous insights for the
present. Such memories are dangerous because they come, as it
were, with future content.

Nevertheless, there is no way to deal with the past other than
to confront it face-to-face. In fact, the ugly face of our past
as a nation should serve as a reminder to all of us not to repeat
the same mistakes. Never again! That's how those who have learned
from the past would express it.

Thus, we should not let a kind of Darwinism prevail in our
understanding of history, including the history of our nation.
That is to say, we must avoid selecting only certain aspects of
our history and treat the selection as if it were the whole
(hi)story.

Rather, we should look into the history of our nation in a
more comprehensive way. That is where we can avail ourselves of
our freedom, to free ourselves from the shackles of the past.
Just as a free and healthy person won't be haunted by his or her
past, likewise this nation should not be crippled by its own
history.

Having the courage to humbly examine its own history and
truthfully correct its own wrongdoings is a sign of a great
nation. The celebration of Independence Day is definitely a
wonderful opportunity to look back to the origins of this nation
and reclaim the spirit of the founders, as well as the ideals
they set for future generations. In so doing we may begin to
realize how much we have failed and how daunting the nation-
building tasks that lie before us.

The writer is a lecturer at the Driyarkara School of
Philosophy in Jakarta and a graduate of Fordham University.