Finding the Meaning of Pancasila Sanctity Day

KOMPAS/RONY ARIYANTO NUGROHO

Interfaith people chat in front of the Garuda Pancasila statue at the Cathedral Church, Jakarta, when they gather before breaking the fast together with the themes of Strengthening Tolerance, Brotherhood and Solidarity of Humanity, on Friday (1/6/2018)

During each commemoration of Pancasila Sanctity Day, our national consciousness seems to be taken back by traumatic memories of being trapped in the shadow of hostility. In fact, however difficult it is to forget painful experiences, the dream of having sacred Pancasila is difficult to realize if we cannot break the chain of revenge. As long as we cannot start building a willingness to coexist , national energy cannot be devoted to win the future.

Let’s listen to Nelson Mandela\'s voice of wisdom. "We may find it difficult to forget, but we must be able to forgive!" With strong self-control over the pain of his past, Mandela advised, “If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner.”

Read also: Faithfully Nurturing the Seeds of Tolerance

In the life of a nation, the bitterness of history must pave the way for the search for the true meaning of a state. The fact that this country was established to achieve happiness, whose fulfillment can be intended to protect the entire nation and all the blood of Indonesia, to improve public welfare, to enrich the life of the people and to participate in implementing the world order based on independence, eternal peace and social justice.

Therefore, the realization of the sanctity of Pancasila requires efforts to educate the nation\'s life.

For that, we need a balance between national reasoning and a sense of the nation. First of all, the state politics must be exercised according to the logics formulated in ideology. State governance according to the basic philosophy of Pancasila which is the state ideology requires "deep thoughts". Therefore, the realization of the sanctity of Pancasila requires efforts to educate the nation\'s life. Moreover, democracy idealized by Pancasila, as well as “democracy guided by the inner wisdom in the unanimity”, which requires deliberative and argumentative powers.

More than that, thinkers of statehood across time and across schools tend to agree on an integral relationship between the state and intelligence. The state itself is defined as the rational organization of society. Emile Durkheim called the state as "an organ of social thought" or "the ego of collective consciousness." In fact, Hegel stated that the state is the incarnation of the mind. Michel Foucault emphasized; “The government, therefore, needs more than just efforts to implement general principles of thought, wisdom and prudence. Specific knowledge is also indispensable: knowledge that is concrete, precise, and measurable. "

Kompas/Ferganata Indra Riatmoko

The artists enthusiastically created a mural with the theme of Pancasila on the walls of the Kridosono Stadium, Yogyakarta, on Saturday (17/6/2018). Through art, they express the values of Pancasila in everyday life.

However, in a pluralistic society with a variety of ideological beliefs and interests, relying on the power of reason alone — which is controlling in nature — has the potential for explosion. Therefore, the mastery of reasoning must be balanced with the virtue of mutual forgiveness. To that end, the founders of the Indonesian nation idealized a form of "family state", which could overcome the difference in understanding (interests) of individuals and groups.

Read also: Ethos of the Nation

In practice, the embodiment of the nation building by strengthening the sense of nation is still hampered by the weak culture of citizenship. Membership in a nation requires what is known as the "virtue of civility". It is a sense of belonging and partnership between various differences and a willingness to share common substance, go beyond group interests, and then soften it and leave it tolerably to civil order. Unfortunately, as noted by Edward Shils (1972); “What has long developed here is a trend of a dense politicization accompanied by the belief that only those who share the same principles and positions are considered legitimate members of political society. Meanwhile those who are different are excommunicated by steep obstacles. "

The series of conflicts is an action-reaction in the chain of revenge. Here is the significance of the greatness of the souls of the victims of the history.

As a fresh start for the development of civic solidarity, we must realize that the legacy of conflict in Indonesia is multi-complex; not limited to differences in skin color as in South Africa. The series of conflicts is an action-reaction in the chain of revenge. Here is the significance of the greatness of the souls of the victims of the history.

The power to forgive they show is the key to the future achievement of the nation. As Viktor Frankl, the psychologist who was the victim of Nazi atrocities stressed; "Conscious acceptance of suffering and fate can be transformed into great achievements.” According to him, destitution can encourage the search for the meaning of life (Man\'s Search for Meaning).

The development of a nation must be a social learning process from the accumulation of national history. With the painful memories of various social conflicts felt by various parties, the Indonesian nation must be able to learn to stop inheriting conflicts and not create new conflicts.

The power to forgive each other must be followed by the expansion of the network of connectivity and social inclusiveness which have the capability to unite the diversity of personal and group interests into a common fraternal community on which mutual trust is based. In the end, mutual trust must be bound by a common basis for public morality and legal certainty, which requires the presence of state administrators and citizens with integrity, who can maintain human character and uphold the noble moral ideals of the people.

Yudi Latif, the national alliance expert