As patriotic citizens, we really feel ashamed of the commitment and promise of a nation made helpless by the phenomena of hedonism, corruption, hypocrisy, greed and human tragedy.
By
SUKIDI
·4 minutes read
SALOMO TOBING
Sukidi
The direction of this nation is at stake. The struggle for Indonesia’s progress faces serious obstacles due to the widening integrity deficit among the republic's leaders. They are not only unaware of the extent of the shock of global uncertainty, but they are also insensitive to the complexity of the nation's problems.
The interests of the nation are often ignored for the sake of personal pleasure. A luxurious lifestyle is exhibited in the midst of the poor’s strong want for prosperity. Corruption is carried out in the midst of public expectations for a clean and just state administration. The law is pawned in the midst of a shared longing for justice. Even citizens are killed savagely and en masse.
The deficit of moral integrity, which actually serves as the prime mover behind the downfall of a nation as described by Edward Gibbon in his classic, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, (1776 & 1789), has never been a warning for Indonesian leaders to learn from the history of the world’s civilization to prevent Indonesia from falling as a nation experiencing a moral decline.
They also do not want to learn from the example of the nation’s founding mothers and fathers who founded the modern Indonesian state with brilliant thoughts and noble moral integrity. As a result, they have never been able to realize the ideals of Indonesia according to the dreams of its founders. There is a wide gap between Indonesia, which was the dream of the founding fathers of the nation, and the reality of Indonesia today, especially from the aspect of unity, prosperity and justice.
It is time for us to be called upon to re-enforce the renewal of a long-faded commitment for the nation. As patriotic citizens, we really feel ashamed of the commitment and promise of a nation made helpless by the phenomena of hedonism, corruption, hypocrisy, greed and human tragedy.
During a visit to Indonesia in 1999, Benedict Anderson called upon a political slogan to “live shame forever” (Long Live Shame!). This call to all of us to care for shame is important to emphasize because according to Anderson (1999), “there is no true nationalist who cannot afford to feel ashamed if his country/government commits crimes, especially when the government massacres its own citizens.” This is what we fully and sincerely feel by living “a life of eternal shame” over the tragedy of the massacre of citizens whose human dignity and honor were treated inhumanely.
As part of the awareness of living together that is interconnected and at the same time dependent on one another, every citizen feels moral pain and a very deep heartache for the human suffering felt by other citizens. Every citizen who is patriotic and humanistic feels the suffering of other citizens killed at the hands of state officers who were supposed to maintain the security of their citizens. “As part of an imaginary community,” continued Ben Anderson (1999), “everyone should feel the moral discomfort of every bad thing that happens on behalf of the nation.”
This is what we really feel and show to the public as a protest against the extraordinary crimes against humanity committed against their own citizens. “If this shame can develop healthily in Indonesia,” hoped Ben Anderson (1999), “the Indonesian people will have the courage to face fear” and crime in any name.
The journey of this nation must continue to be monitored so that its fate does not move toward a crossroads. Just as Soekarno, through Frans Seda, mandated the name Kompas (1965) as "a giver of direction and paths in navigating the ocean or jungle" (Jakob Oetama, 2011), Indonesia also needs a "Kompas" as a giver of direction and guidelines for living together as a state to guard and determine the future of Indonesia so that this nation is not at a crossroads and is no longer hijacked by leaders who have an integrity deficit.
Kompas are us, the leaders and citizens, who must always hold firmly to the commitment to the nation that is prioritized far above personal and group interests. This national commitment must be transformed gradually and quickly to the progress of Indonesia and the welfare of its people. This project can only be achieved successfully if this nation is led by a leader who not only animates the exemplary life and brilliant thoughts of the founding fathers of the nation, but also demonstrates a noble moral example with full awareness about the direction and future of a just, prosperous and democratic Indonesia.
