Let’s Unite Again
Amartya Sen, winner of the 1998 Nobel Economy, in his book Identity and Violence: The Illusion of Destiny, provides a good narrative about violence that is triggered by differences in identity.
According to Amartya Sen, on the one hand identity plays a role in providing strength and warmth in community life, but on the other hand it can also be destructive. Based on his own life experience, Sen was a witness of riots between Hindus and Muslims in the 1940s.
This conflict, which was triggered by identity differences, occurred quite quickly. Those who previously lived in harmony suddenly met face to face to destroy each other as if they did not know each other before. At present, the danger of identity politics reminded by Sen deserves our attention.
Our nation is not only different in religious identities, but also in ethnicities, races, languages and cultures. From the beginning, if we read classical works, such as Pararaton, Sutasoma and Nagarakertagama, it can be deduced that our ancestors had tried to knit the differences in identity through the thread of unity.
This fact shows that differences have been realized since the beginning and frequently become a source of division and conflicts, so a way is needed to unite them. One of the triggers of conflict and separation is politics that seizes power spaces.
Problems of general election in the “post-truth” era
Politics is indeed inseparable from human life. The nature of democracy provides space for the people to have politics. Anyone has the right to channel the broadest political aspirations. The general election is one of the efforts to channel the people\'s political voice. We have repeatedly faced the upheaval of elections and have been able to complete each process well.
However, the 2019 elections deserve a hard look because it takes place in the post-truth era. In this era, politics is no longer debating the substance of the problem, but rather relying on emotions that are distant from the truth. This is why hoaxes sell better than argumentative and scientific explanations, because the truth in post-truth politics is no longer important.
What is important for politicians is to stir up the emotions of the masses in various ways, one of which is through hoax news that are deliberately produced systematically and massively. Bombardments of false news that fill our living spaces causes the truth to disappear.
If we refer to Jean Baudrillard\'s theory of simulacra, the hoaxes that were widely spread in the 2019 elections disregarded facts, right and wrong, and reasoning. Through various ways, the truth can be wrong and vice versa. This is what causes tension and boiling points in society to be high.
The next result is one of sharp division. Groups with different political choices are considered to be groups that must be silenced, even if they are our own family and neighbors. As we see, the impact has spread to everyday problems that are actually not related to politics.
From the news, we get information that a family has to move the family grave because of different political choices from the graveyard owner. There was also a fight that resulted in fatalities due to debates about the champion they supported, not to mention mutual ridiculing and bullying on social media.
These facts show the post-truth politics, with hoaxes as its main tool, have destroyed what joins people together.
During the election process, we lost joy, humor, warmth and happiness because we were constantly provoked to be in disputes. The election is no longer a party, but has morphed into a battlefield. We forget ourselves as a nation. We are torn apart by identity politics that is constantly being exploited for the sake of momentary political interests.
Politics is actually not dirty, but it is the politicians who pollute it. I am reminded of the words of John F. Kennedy: "If politics is dirty, then poetry will clean it." Poetry is produced by a clear heart to voice the deepest conscience. Politics should also be like that. However, these days what happens is the opposite: Politics is born by a dirty heart.
One substance and one vein
There is one quote of Chairil Anwar\'s poem that we can contemplate: "You and I are one substance, one vein/in your substance, in my substance, our ships sail/In your vein, in my vein, our ships depart & anchor." The poetry, titled "Agreement with Bung Karno", states that the Indonesian people are "one substance" and "one vein" that live on the same ship. This is why we need to unite again. If it is left to be separated, destruction will occur.
Now, the 2019 elections are over. Both the winners and the losers remain "one substance" and "one vein", which is sheltered by the Indonesia Raya ship. Therefore, it is time for us to knit back the friendship and brotherhood that had been torn apart during the election by weaving togetherness, brotherhood and unity. We are only different in political choices and now it is over. We are not different in loving this nation.
With the election now over, the “others” are not supposed to be a threat anymore. We must have the courage to embrace anyone and everyone. In order to realize this, borrowing James Baldwin\'s metaphor, the difference is similar to "a cloth that covers one\'s nakedness", so "the cloth should be loose".
It means that with such looseness, we can accept that other people who are different from us are not a threat. This inclusive attitude is what we can use as the foundation to unite again.
Learning from the experience of the 2019 elections, if we want to be mature in democracy, identity politics must be abandoned and replaced by national politics. The political foundation of nationality is humanity. If humanity is the handle, the end point is equality and brotherhood.
As long as we are still trapped in the politics of antagonism, which causes a community to face off against each other over who wins and who loses, the political goals of achieving common welfare are neglected.
From here, there appears to be an assumption that politics is the same as hostility. It is not too late to change our perspective and political direction. We can start today by embracing all layers of the society.
If there are scratches due to the elections, let us heal with love. We have to replace the hard and angry words with more positive words. We are looking for a meeting point, not a splitting point. The advice of our parents about the philosophy of a stick is still relevant today. Sticks will be strong if united, not left alone. Let us reunite.
Yenny Zannuba Wahid, Director of Wahid Foundation