Spirit of democracy

Apparently it's time again to define "democracy" for those who so easily forget.

Democracy is "government of the people, by the people and for the people"; this simply means that the government is composed of people from the populace, with laws made by those people for the benefit of all the people.

This is for Fadloeli's letter, Dec. 5, and Vice President Jusuf Kalla's arrogant elitist comments chastising teachers at the Teachers' Day celebration held recently.

The protests of the teachers did not tarnish the image of the teaching profession as stated by Fadloeli; to the contrary, it is a teacher's duty to instruct, and thus, it was the ideal time and place to be heard. This stands to reason.

Kalla stated that teachers were not supposed to be critical of issues affecting the nation; does this mean that they are supposed to be lackeys to the mini-dictators who think that they, and only they, have the "right" to rule. Again, teachers should epitomize the concept of "freedom of speech and expression", which is the keystone of democracy, and written in Indonesia's Constitution. This stands to reason.

Education is the foundation from which a nation can grow and teachers are the builders of the nation's soul and character. The elected leaders in the government, while doing their utmost to promote the spirit of achievement, and whose monthly salaries top 50 million rupiah, can afford to support the almost destroyed education system and the poverty-stricken dedicated teachers of this nation. This stands to reason.

BRIEN DOYLE Jakarta