Musings - Part 3 (Finished)

The point I have been trying to get across is that if Indonesia is to liberate itself from post-modern collonialism, rekindle the meaningfulness of "Indonesian nationalism", and position itself proudly among other nations, there must be a movement within and amongst the middle class. Ratu Adil will never come; Indonesia's second independence will greatly rely on the middle class: their awareness and sacrifices. I may not know the details of what I am talking about, but my faith in this conditionality is as strong as I do in the natural law of causalities.

Before changes are observable, they first occur in the mind. It is only the middle class who have the capacity and resources to think beyond the boundaries of logistical needs. Some of them may have benefited from education-perhaps abroad. Only the middle class in this country have fairly secured their basic needs, while the majority of Indonesians are poor.

Arguably, the majority of Indonesians are the sweetest people on earth, but unfortunately they are also the most ignorant. By this I have the least intention to insult them. They are too distracted from thinking otherwise than consolidating their lives, trying to go ahead from merely being subsistent. They are confused and like goldfish in a bowl most of them don't even know they are confused. But "thanks" to this quality, we have remained a nation this far. The majority of us are powerless against the economic and legal injustices. Victims of suppression by their own people, they have simply endured. Life has always been hard; they do not know they have been cruelly victimized.

Reliance on the central government or local governments or central/local governmental officials would be too good to be true. It'd be better to think of things that wonderful as bonuses. Strictly speaking, it would be unrealistic to rely on the government, considering how most of their bosses (read: their Excellencies) are handed down authorities through political appointment. In short, they are too busy securing their new found power. Asking them to reform themselves is asking for their political demise.

Reliance on the central government or local governments or central/local governmental officials would be wishful thinking. Thinking this way may have come from an assumption that the government knows what's best for its people. If this assumption has been challenged in most advanced countries, it is yet to be challenged in this country; and the time, my dear fellow Indonesians, is now.