Independence Vision-Mission
"Independence is not the end of problems, independence even gives rise to problems. But independence also gives us ways on to solve problems. It is only the lack of freedom, which does not allows us to find ways to get to the bottom of problems."
Bung Karno\'s statement gives an indication that the Indonesian people\'s struggle for freedom was not limited to freedom as "negative rights" ("free from" various forms of occupation, oppression and impoverishment), but also freedom as "positive rights" (freedom to" development oneself and added values to achieve advancement, nobility and happiness). The experiences of being oppressed, discriminated against and exploited deserve to be lamented, opposed and commemorated. "However, human beings," said Isiah Berlin, ”do not live only to fight against badness. They live with positive objectives, present goodness." Dreams of independence mean many things, which can only be fulfilled by free souls. Here lies the paradox of Indonesia at present.
For dozens of years during the reform period, freedom as a "negative right" experienced a surplus. However, freedom as a "positive right" was still in deficit. On the one hand, the freedom from various forms of repression instilled the people\'s hope for life, which was better, more just and prosperous. On the other hand, the capacity of the state/nation to meet these expectation has been limited by the deficit of free souls among the elite of the country, which have exhausted the nation’s energy on trivial things like commotions caused by various political maneuvers, which are separated from the people\'s problems.
In order to struggle for independence as a "positive right" what has to be broken down it the mental bloc. The worst heritage from colonialism, feudalism and authoritarianism does not lie in the magnitude of wealth confiscated, the suffering inflicted and deaths, but the heritage of corruptive values, oppression and slavery, which are implanted in the nation\'s mind.
Indonesia is a big country with a small mind, which has not been freed from the mentality of the oppressed and its inferiority complexity. In the Presidential Mandate on the Commemoration of Indonesia\'s Independence Proclamation, August 17, 1957, Bung Karno reminded people of the importance of the Indonesian nation to fight against themselves in response to the decline in our national awareness and national spiritual strength. According to him, "Our spiritual weakness is that we are short of confidence as a nation so that we become a nation copycatting other countries, without mutual trust even though initially we were people of mutual cooperation, less persistent but wanting to feel quick comfort and looking for the easiest ways. And our deteriorating sense of national dignity increasingly undermines our sense of pride and respect and the personality of the nation and its people."
Independence without a free spirit leads to an explosion of freedom without capacity and productivity. A euphoria of freedom in the face of globalization results in a nation that is increasingly flooded with information, technology and ideologies from the outside. Without the capacity to positively develop, the influx of various elements of globalization, although expanding technological innovation, leads to limitations of high civilization. All of these factors puts the nation in a crisis of identity, with a tendency for severe polarization and social fragmentation.
Far in advance Bung Karno reminded us, "The atomic revolution has to be accompanied by a mental revolution. The atomic revolution has to be accompanied by a moral revolution. We have to be brave enough to think with a peaceful nature, not with a warlike mindset. We have to be brave enough have mutual trust. If the atomic revolution is not accompanied by a mental and moral revolutions, the advancements being brought about will lead humankind to the brink of calamity."
Vision of independent state
Every time the nation’s independence is commemorated, the country revives the flame of the spirit of proclamation; the souls of independence radiating from the spirit of struggle, the spirit of unity and the spirit to build the nation. The three spirits have to be placed in the framework to realize the vision and mission of the nation\'s independence. That the greatest motive to achieve independence is to reach happiness. In the Preamble of the 1945 Constitution, the motive is implicitly covered in the second paragraph, "And the struggle of the Indonesian independence movement has reached the time to enjoy happiness." However, in the paragraph it is also mentioned that the fulfillment of the motive to reach happiness can only be fully met if the Indonesian nation can reach the vision of an independent state, namely becoming a nation of citizens who are "independent, united, sovereign, just and prosperous."
If we observe more thoroughly, the vision of the state constitutes the ideal of Pancasila. Becoming "independent" constitutes the radiance of the moral ideal of the principle of God and Humanity. That in the eyes of God, all people, whatever their color, race and class, are equal. At the same time, a human being does not stand alone, isolated from others. Human beings cannot help but be together by developing a sense of humanity full of affection and love for others.
The mental attitude, which has to be nurtured as an expression of equality is that of self-reliance. Self-reliance is not the same as isolation. Self-reliance is a mental attitude, which is brave enough to think for itself, to take a stance and act, free form coercion and intervention from other parties. Nurturing a mentality of self-reliance, aside from requiring an egalitarian mindset, also necessitates the existence of intelligence and creativity based on the development of sciences and technology.
The collective self-reliance of the Indonesian nation can grow if the Indonesian people develop a sense of love by performing their public obligations truthfully and fairly. Collectivity when not accompanied by honesty will topple the self-reliance of the nation. When corruption is widespread, the sovereignty of a nation can easily fall under the direction of other countries.
Aside from the spirit of egalitarianism, self-reliance and mutual trust, human beings, as religious creatures, also have to free themselves from the graven images of materialism and hedonism. The failures of the emancipation projects of the French Revolution, which gave birth to capitalist tyranny and the Russian Revolution, which gave birth to "nomenclature" tyranny were caused by the fact the two were trapped in the graven images of materialism. According to the Pancasila view of life, material things are important, but are not allowed to be made into graven images.In front of God the Almighty, materialism cannot be made absolute. In the spirit of God, material things are belongings that have a social function, which must be used with an altruistic spirit.
Becoming "united" constitutes the reflection of the moral ideal of the Unity principle. To instill love among the diversity of human beings who inhabit a motherland, human beings develop a sense of nationhood. Indonesian people have developed a multicultural nation with a mentality of mutual cooperation, ”Bhinneka Tunggal Ika” (unity in diversity).
In order to nurture the mentality of unity in diversity, it needs to be accompanied by a spirit of sacrifice and service. The end goal of the spirits of equality, self-reliance, honesty, altruism and unity is the service of humanity. This means that,not only does mental preparedness apply to social obligations, in line with duties, but, also, hard work actualizes self-potential – reaching high achievements in one\'s respective field represents the best of the nation and of human beings.
Becoming "sovereign" constitutes the moral ideal of the principle of democracy. Becoming a sovereign nation means having self-reliance to "go out" (in international relations) and "inside" (domestic relations) in making decisions. To implement its mandate in a diversified nation, the public service must make decisions dealing with joint problems by carrying out deliberations based on the spirit of love. The main measure of love is mutual respect. The way to respect people is to see them as sovereign subjects, not as objects of manipulation, exploitation and exclusiveness. This is the real meaning of democracy.
Becoming "just and prosperous" reflects the moral ideal of the principle of social justice. According to the Pancasila view of life, people as physical beings require accommodation, clothing, food and various other material needs. The embodiment of humanity is to show love for fellow human beings by sharing to help them meet their physical needs. This is called social justice. To achieve this goal, aside from political freedom, economic freedom is also required. Becoming a just and prosperous nation requires a management of material resources that is aimed at creating a free economy, which is just and prosperous, based on mutual cooperation and the state\'s control of important production branches of the livelihoods of many people as well as land, water and natural resources, while giving opportunities for private ownership rights with social functions.
Vision of the state
In the framework of realizing the vision of a free state, all elements of the state/nation are required to safeguard the state\'s vision as contained in the fourth paragraph of the Preamble of the 1945 Constitution. First, protect entire nation of Indonesia and entire native land of Indonesia. Second, promote general welfare. Third, educate the nation\'s life. Fourth, participate in implementing the world order based on independence, eternal peace, and social justice.
If we closely observe them, the four missions of the state-nation constitute the embodiment of the imperative of Pancasila moral. The mission to "protect" constitutes the imperative of moral of God, Humanity, and Unity. That each citizen, whatever his/her primordial background and wherever they live, has to be protected in term of his/her life, belongings, and dignity; both the civil and political rights or economic, social and cultural rights.
The mission to "improve the welfare" constitutes the imperative of the moral of Social Justice. The embodiment of justice and welfare is a most obvious evidence of the Pancasila ideality. The way to achieve social justice requires the role of the state at large, but also requires participation of business people and the community in developing welfare. With their respective capacities, they have to carry out mutual cooperation to advance the general welfare, develop social service guarantees and carry out sustainable development for the justice and peace with the character of self-reliance, frugality, work ethos, and environment friendly.
The mission to "educate" constitutes the imperative of the moral of the principle of Democracy and Social Justice. That Pancasila democracy, which will be developed, will realize the deliberative-argumentative ideal and the consensual wisdom ideal.The inclusive democracy, which is dedicated for many people, is oriented far in the future, and based on rationality principle. All of them demand requirements of the civility intelligence.
The mission to "carry out world order" constitutes an imperative of the moral of Humanity. The Humanity Principle which is just and civilized consists of the nation vision which is humanist with a big commitment to make brotherhood in the world association and among fellow country children based on the values of justice and civility which glorifies human rights. In grounding this principle, the founders of the nation have inherited capability to combine the global vision with the local wisdom, between the national interests and universal humanity.
In the vision and mission of the state as a reflection of the positive freedom, it is clearly illustrated that the best heritage of this nation is not politics of fear, but politics of hope, that this house of nation is built full of hope: free, united, sovereign, just, and prosperous.
This nation faces many problems. However, with a free spirit, we can face them with open-eyed optimism. Realizing the vision and mission of independence requires great souls. The great souls,as illustrated by Bung Karno, are "the souls which are brave enough to swallow difficulties, the souls which are brave enough to pounce on all difficulties. Great souls are the souls which have great inventiveness."
With the spirit of togetherness amid differences, the power of love overcomes hopelessness. As Bung Karno reminds us, "Proclaiming a nation is easy, but arranging the state, defending the state for ever is difficult. Only people who meet the requirements as I mentioned— people who are persistent, people who are not easily bored, people who are tough, people who are manly — will be able to create an eternal state. They who want pearls must be firm enough to hold their breath and brave enough to jump and dive into the deep ocean."
YUDI LATIF
Member of Indonesian Academy of Sciences