Is National Heroes Day still dignified?

Is National Heroes Day still dignified?

JAKARTA (JP): What should one expect during a ceremony to
commemorate National Heroes Day? Ideally, a solemn and serene
atmosphere where everyone reminisces about the days of violent
combat and the sacrifice made by those who died to found the
country.

But such an atmosphere now is hard to find, and the solemnity
of National Heroes Day has faded.

"There are too many days to be commemorated now, and this has
shallowed the meaning of National Heroes Day," said Umar Kayam, a
noted intellectual and novelist.

"In fact, 'commemoration days' are held so frequently, they
inflate the importance inherent in the day's original purpose,"
he said.

The government designates at least seven days in a year as
"national commemoration days". These historically significant
days are Kartini Day (April 21), National Education Day (May 2),
Independence Day (Aug. 17), Pancasila Sanctity Day (Oct. 1),
Armed Forces Day (Oct. 5), Youth Pledge Day (Oct. 28) and
National Heroes Day (today).

While he felt the observance of some of these "days" have
inflated their original meaning, Kayam has nothing against
commemorating National Heroes Day.

"The commemoration of National Heroes Day in and of itself is
a good thing, as long as it is conducted within the historical
context of the event and signifies honoring the people who stood
up for the nation's dignity," he said.

Kayam was referring to the incident in Surabaya, East Java, 51
years ago today when hundreds of young Indonesians died in a
battle against British-led Allied forces attempting to reimpose
Dutch colonial rule in Indonesia shortly after the end of World
War II. Indonesia had declared its independence the previous
August.

During the combat, the blue part of the Dutch red, white and
blue flag was torn off by an Indonesian freedom fighter, leaving
only a red and white banner resembling Indonesia's national flag.

The commemoration of National Heroes Day, Kayam said, is
important to remind people of the brave acts by these devoted
young fighters. But the frequency of such commemorations should
be observed so they are not viewed as misleading "propaganda".

"People need only to be reminded there have been individuals
who were so selfless they were willing to start a fiery
revolution without thinking about it, at the spur of the moment,"
he said.

Flattery

But the observance of this special day -- and other days, for
this matter -- can be blown out of proportion when it is taken
out of its historical context and used only to flatter those
involved in present-day ceremonies, Kayam said.

"The historical context of National Heroes Day is narrowed
once certain groups claim credit for the event," Kayam said.

"The Armed Forces, who often think the military was the only
one involved in the struggle for this country's independence, are
among those who should refrain from claiming all the credit," he
said.

In fact, Kayam said, no one better deserves credit for the
Surabaya flag-ripping incident than the city's residents
themselves.

Kayam felt it is important to keep a low profile when it comes
to appreciating national events, alluding that the numerous
commemoration days are much ado about nothing.

"If it's not too important, we need not commemorate it," Kayam
said, referring to all sorts of "days" held to revere various
professions, such as farmer's, fishermen's or teacher's day.

"Can you tell me what added value a ceremony can do to improve
the welfare of fishermen, for example?" he asked.

Though he refused to rank the importance of commemoration
days, he named Independence Day and National Heroes Day as the
two days most worthy of celebrating.

Sukarno

Kayam, who was born in 1932, is probably one of the few
Indonesians to revive, in a unique way, one of Indonesia's
national heroes.

This happened when he played the part of Indonesia's first
president, Sukarno, in the movie Pengkhianatan G-30S PKI, which
was released in 1984.

Until now, he says with amusement, many people still recognize
him as "Bung Karno" -- as Sukarno was affectionately called --
because the movie is shown on Pancasila Sanctity Day every year
by all TV stations.

When it was first released, it became compulsory viewing for
elementary to senior high school students.

Kayam acknowledged the frequency at which the public views the
movie as an example of "inflating" commemoration days.

"(The movie) should have been played only once, in the year it
was released. After that, there should have been more movies on
that theme, but with different versions by different directors,"
he said.

Nonetheless, the movie has brought him enough fame to be
recognized as "Sukarno" by a very proud taxi driver; freedom to
pass airport customs one time after the customs official said:
"We would never think of searching Sukarno" and countless
handshakes from "Sukarno" (the movie version) admirers on the
streets.

"What has not happened is being told that, as Sukarno, I don't
have to pay at a restaurant," he said with a chuckle.

What does he think about heroes himself?

Kayam, who is a professor at Gadjah Mada University in
Yogyakarta, defined a hero as a person that has made a
performance "rated above average" which is acknowledged by
others.

Now that there is no longer a fight for independence, the
title of "hero" takes on a new meaning to honor those with
various achievements, such as in the fields of environment and
development.

Kayam expressed his indifference toward the term "hero" and
the repercussion of the term's aura.

Hero

"I'm not so much amused by the word 'hero' itself, though I
don't object to people being termed so either," he said
lightheartedly.

What Kayam is concerned about, however, is what he sees as the
young generation's apparent ignorance and lack of respect towards
national heroes.

But he acknowledged it is unfair to say this attitude is due
to the fact that the younger generation did not experience
history firsthand.

"History's quality and trustworthiness depend largely on how
it is taught, told and passed on through the years," he said.

Kayam said history teachers should be able to act and bring
history alive for their students, as it is most likely the only
way to keep them interested in the subject.

History teachers, he said, should ignite appreciation and
emotion and provide students with angles with which they can
understand history, not treat it as a subject that merely
involves the memorization of dates, names and places of the past.

"I remember my class was emotionally moved when my history
teacher told us how Diponegoro was tricked into being captured by
the Dutch colonialists," Kayam said, referring to Prince
Diponegoro, a national hero from Central Java.

Kayam blamed the low quality of history teachers on their
"poor general knowledge". In turn, they teach "boring history
courses ... which sound more like propaganda".

The low-quality history text used in the education system
certainly does not brighten the gloomy condition of "boring
history" that students have conditioned themselves to accept.

"Those books are badly written and shallow. (The books) can
only afford to exercise the "bla, bla, bla" rhetoric, which
touches only the tip of the history iceberg," Kayam said.

"Such a depreciation of history is made worse because no one
has ever criticized these bad writings," Kayam said. People are
either afraid or lazy to provide criticism, because there is no
good example of good social control, he said.

"Even the press fails to create public opinion or provide
examples of how social control must occur. Perhaps nowadays is
the era in which people put safety before everything else," he
said. (pwn/14)