Heroism of Humanity

KOMPAS/BAHANA PATRIA GUPTA

A driver crosses a mural with Bung Tomo in Waru District, Sidoarjo, East Java, on Tuesday (3/11/2015).

Commemorating Heroes\' Day in a republic that is haunted by fear, hatred and hostility demands a shift in the character of heroism, from an expression of negative-defensive patriotism to a more positive-progressive patriotism. It’s a spirit of patriotism that focuses not only on what can be attacked, but also on what can be cultivated. Its historical project is not only defending, but also improving the condition of the country. The slogan is not just “NKRI Harga Mati” (the unitary republic of Indonesia is final), but also “NKRI Harga Hidup (how to bring prosperity to people).

In order to revive the spirit of positive-progressive patriotism, the acts of heroism must be able to reduce masculinity and replace it with a more feminine spirit. Martha C. Nussbaum (2013) describes this shift in character with the Indian tradition in the Iroquois tribe. When there was a potential for warfare between groups, a woman would appear as a peacemaker and the man must come out and play the role of a woman. The woman would say, "Hey you men, why did you fight each other like that? Remember, your wife and children could all die if you don\'t stop fighting. Do you want to be responsible for destroying all of us from the earth?"

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In growing the feminine heroic spirit, Johann Gottfried Herder reminded the need for peaceful women to strive for "universal justice, humanity and active logic" by cultivating a peaceful and altruist spirit in citizens. First, the peace-making woman must recall the horror of the "circle of violence." Every war or violence, except for self-defense, is a despicable madness, causing endless pain and moral degradation.

For that purpose, it is necessary to grow an active and critical citizen spirit.

Second, the peace-making woman must teach people to avoid too much appreciation to the greatness of heroism, such as with a war victory and its mythical heroes. Third, the peace-making woman must remind of "the horror of mismanagement of the state," by teaching disrespect and defiance against political authorities who like to instigate conflict for their own political interests. For that purpose, it is necessary to grow an active and critical citizen spirit.

Fourth, the peace-making woman must develop compassionate patriotism by calling on citizens to grow and feel the potential virtues that exist in their nation. The energy of citizens must be directed towards achieving a prosperous, just, peaceful, accomplished and meaningful life in order to achieve the happiness of living together. Fifth, the peace-making woman must be able to develop a feeling and attitude of fairness towards other nations in the souls of the citizens, including fairness in trade relations between nations, so that poor countries are not sacrificed for the benefit of the greedy rich countries. Finally, the peace-making woman must teach citizens to navigate useful activities in a joyful manner.

Heroism is not to be put as a cult or waited as a messiah, but rather it needs to be revived in everyone: the hero within, according to psychologist Carol S. Pearson.

If there is something wrong with the political learning process in this country, it is (because) none other than the fact that hero is always positioned in the “bygone era” and outside of ourselves, not presented in “present time” and inside ourselves. Thus, hero is always a sign of waiting and death, it never promises presence and life. In fact, the meaning of death is a legacy of goodness that lives today. The meaning of waiting is goodness that is invested for the future. The meaning of yesterday and tomorrow, past and current, is largely determined by the heroic act of the present time. Heroism is not to be put as a cult or waited as a messiah, but rather it needs to be revived in everyone: the hero within, according to psychologist Carol S. Pearson.

KOMPAS/RIZA FATHONI

A number of health workers from the TNI, Polri, civilian volunteers and medical officers attended the Heroes\' Day commemoration ceremony at the Wisma Atlet Covid-19 Emergency Hospital complex, Kemayoran, Central Jakarta,  on Tuesday (10/11/2020).

It’s this inner heroism that drives people\'s concern to share love during disasters and pandemics, overcoming government inaction in distributing aid. This inner heroism is also what makes small people have a big mentality, assisting the weaknesses of the big leaders with small mentality. It is also inner heroism that can patch up the Indonesian fabric torn down by conflict resulting from individual interests.

The effort to liven up heroism in one’s self, according to Pearson, requires a continuous transformation of life. Humans must move away from the phase of suffering (orphan), traveling (wanderer), knighthood (warrior), commitment to high virtue (altruist), celebrate with life (innocent) and finally be able to create life as desired (magician).

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It needs a shift of the paradigm of mentality for people to transform from one stage to the next, which brings consequences to changes in attitudes and actions. It becomes a big problem when a leader who is expected to be a magician, who can change things, hasn\'t even reached an altruist mentality. So what exists is the wanderer leader, who still likes to travel through comparative studies and the warrior leader, who often "fights" for improvement of facilities and for the sake of maintaining power.

Kompas

Yudi Latif

People\'s protracted hopes result in a long complaint about an unhappy country that is awaiting its hero – the messiah. To deal with it, a message from Andrea and Galileo\'s dialogue in Bertolt Brecht\'s play deserves consideration. Andrea says, "Unhappy is the land that breeds no hero." Galileo replies, "No, Andrea … unhappy is the land that needs a hero." A hero must not be waited for, but it needs to be actualized in the souls of all citizens by livening up feminine patriotism with values of humanity.

Yudi Latif, National Alliance Expert