Towards an assertive community

Towards an assertive community

By Adrianus Meliala

JAKARTA (JP): Nowadays, an assertive person has a chance to be
superior to those who do not possess that quality. An assertive
person has bigger opportunities to succeed in persuading other
people, in gaining information or in changing other people's
perceptions. If this ability is applied to certain practical
purposes, the assertive person will also be superior in
conducting business lobbies, in accomplishing a study, or in
leading an organization, to name a few.

As a concept, assertiveness can be linked to an individual's
capability to express feelings and attitudes without being too
outspoken, direct or even arrogant so as to spoil the situation
and to hurt other people's feelings. Psychology in this case
believes that an assertive personality is not hereditary. In
other words, this capability can be practiced and developed. In
short, assertiveness is one of the modern personality
characteristics that is very much needed.

Psychology has so far given a formulation for the change of
appearance of many individuals. A person that was previously
always in doubt to express an opinion, changes into a spontaneous
one. A person that tends to be wanting in his external locus
(convinced that it is other people who influence his life and not
he himself who influences it) can also be modified, so as to
raise his internal dimensions. Also, a person with changing
opinions can become somebody with solid convictions.

But, when can all Indonesians be developed into assertive
persons?

It seems we can agree that an individual approach by
psychological means is not fast enough and is very limited in
keeping up with the needs to supplement the Indonesian community
with various superior characteristics. Apart from assertiveness,
the will to compete, determination to study and not to despair
belong to the category of superior characteristics which need to
be developed by all Indonesians now, in order to keep pace with
progress in economy, as well as progress in other fields.

It is a challenging question whether as a community, we
possess a high, or low assertiveness. On many occasions
Indonesians find it difficult to say when something is wrong.
Should they have the courage to do so, the way of expressing it
is often circumspect. The culture to put seniority on a pedestal,
the culture of reluctance in being outspoken, are things that
hamper assertiveness in the community.

In other matters, however, there is an impression that people
now tend to be more expressive, which is shown by the high number
of demonstrations in the streets, despite threats continuously
uttered by security enforcers to arrest the demonstrators if they
are considered to be disturbing public order.

In short, there are many factors which show that Indonesians
are often inhibited from appearing as they are. The inhibition
may come from cultural or local values, as well as universal
influences; likewise restraints due to religion, customs and
rules which are special, such as regulations at work, or public
in character, as in the law and ethical codes. All this
consistently provide beacons for the individual to act in
accordance with the community's expectations.

So, on the one hand, people are inhibited by things external
in character. On the other hand, the community itself is
automatically, intentionally or not, an inhibitor of its members'
behavior not to deviate. Assertiveness at the community level, in
the form of a statement of opinion, an exhibition of tendentious
art, a press release, a demonstration, a petition, a strike, a
self-sacrifice, or a vote casting, etc., will become a behavior
that any moment could be construed as deviating.

If the word "inhibition" is used, it means the relation
between the community and those external factors is already
negative in character. The strengths, or even the weaknesses, of
the external factors always result in the worsening of the
people's ability to appear as they are. The community then
becomes easier to engineer. If the community wishes to develop,
in general it is by making use of marginal methods (like taking
shortcuts in all fields).

Under that condition also, characteristics such as
spontaneity, expression and creativity in opinion and behavior,
become things which are hard to be accepted, let alone carried
out. Not, in the first place, because they are not allowed, but
because the ambience for it is non-existent. Creativity and
spontaneity also tend to be treated as indicators of the people's
lack of discipline. At that point, discipline is no longer a
positive thing because its meaning is "uniformity of the
community".

A danger will arise when spontaneity, or the wish to express
oneself, develops and cannot be halted. At that time, a mass
behavior may occur, with a tendency to destroy.

In a nearly similar situation, as in assertiveness training at
individual level, people also need certain conditions to become
assertive.

The first condition is that there must be clarity as to the
limits of the dynamics of external influences. It is thereby
meant that the community knows well that religion, politics,
basic rights, ethical codes, etc., will reject (and may possibly
penalize) if the community commits various acts which are
considered negative by each institution. The assertiveness of the
group can then be constantly targeted to the substances rejected
and accepted.

Especially in politics, there are many things which are
intentionally and continuously left alone in a not very clear
state. Then, many people become the victim of their own
assertiveness because they have touched on subjects which prove
to be banned but which have only been put in the gray area. The
recent hot issues concerning political permits, by the
government, can be seen in that perspective.

The second condition is the consistent availability of rewards
each time an assertive behavior occurs, whatever the quality. The
objective is that somebody gets the reinforcement to continue to
do so. On an individual level, it is very easy to do this; the
situation is far more complex for giving a reward to a
community's assertiveness.

To serve as an example, confusion often arises about whether
it is prohibited to demonstrate in the streets. Sometimes,
security forces seem to approve of a demonstration, but at other
times they round up the demonstrators. Inconstancy is also often
shown in the execution of functional controls. The complaint is
often heard, "People say criticism is appreciated, but in reality
the critics are ostracized."

The spirit to launch openness in various fields is actually in
line with the spirit of assertiveness. It is so said,
considering that this principle enables all people to know what
is happening and, at the same time, to take a stance and decide
what to do. It is ironical that amid the spirit of openness,
people maintain the same level or have a lower level of
assertiveness.

The third condition is the availability of a patron or role
model. With a concrete model on assertive personality and
behavior, people can more easily imitate. In that context we
should be grateful that there are always one or two community
members who are not willing to follow the mainstream in attitude
and public opinion. These members of the community are capable of
seeing through situations clearly, and, at the same time, stating
their attitude in a vocal, or assertive way.

The writer is a criminologist at the School of Social and
Political Sciences at the University of Indonesia.