After all the "Happy New Year" greetings and fireworks have died down, I believe we should take a look at what has happened in '08, which doesn't have to include Obamas' over-hyped election, and think about what we expect to see in '09, which doesn't have to involve Mama Lauren's E!-channel-ish predictions.
I personally feel 2008 had been very rough, and the depressing news on TV and the web doesn't help at all. Contrary to popular belief, I DON'T have a heart made of stone; I am deeply concerned with what other people, nationwide and worldwide, are going through, and there were times when I felt this nation is going to the wrong direction. Conservatives, especially religious cons, have had it too easy in 2008 and as they tighten their grips on the nation, they lure us away from our rationality and open mind into a ginormous, narrow-minded mess. While we are going through a positive period of religious reemergence, many "faithful ones" found more besides God. They found arrogance, intolerance, and violence-plus an unhealthy dose of stupidity. Even worse, these "evils" made their way into the government, the parliament, and almost everywhere else.
The Ahmadiyah debacle was truly disturbing. The government meddled in its citizens' religious affairs and, bowing to pressure, decided to say that one religion is "right", the other is "wrong". This made me question the freedom of faith in the nation as provided by its constitution. There are hundreds of religions in our archipelago, including various local beliefs that have existed from centuries, possibly millennia, ago; surely it is wrong for the government to "officially recognize" only six of them, especially because these six are "newcomers" which are lucky enough to gain a huge following. Every human has the right to freedom of faith, whether choose to believe in something or nothing at all. Perhaps this quote from Thomas Jefferson can illustrate my point: "It does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg".
Then, we are treated to a spectacular display of ridiculousness by the members of Representative Council. All but two fractions supported the poorly-drafted, unconstitutional Porn Law. I'm not gonna go all over it again; I just want to say that the passage of the bill is a sign that our Parliament is dominated by religious conservatives who want to dominate the truth, who think that they've grasped the truth on their hands, and who feel that they can impose their "truth" unto other people. I can only pity them: they are forever stuck in what they perceive as the "porn" part of freedom of expression, and sadly can never move on beyond that; they think they can protect the vulnerable (i.e. women) by restraining them. These "wakil rakyat"s instilled fear into critical people by saying that the law is suitable for Indonesia's so-called "religious" "Eastern" society.
Furthermore, regional autonomy has brought more than development. It also opened the gate to shariah- and other religious-based laws. Of course, the biggest villain is Aceh: the only province to have shariah as its foundation, as opposed to Pancasila. In the province, women are forced to wear headscarves and follow a certain dresscode, lashing as punishment is legal, religious competence is compulsory, along with other unconstitutional nonsenses. A special force was set up to monitor the citizens' compliance; this force can "educate" women who are deemed to violate the strict dresscode. Tight jeans? Shorts? Nuh-uh.
A significant number of other regions have followed suit. Many areas require women to wear headscarves and dress "modestly". Tangerang forbids women to "look or act suspiciously like a prostitute"; they cannot be outside alone after dark. Several regions require their citizens to be able to read the Qur'an sufficiently. Bukittinggi criminalized Valentine's Day and dampened New Year's Eve. (Whoa, the mayor must be an expert killjoy) Ulama councils and other religious groups' influence on the government continues to increase unchecked, and they have thrown the country off its tracks.
Oh my, I just hope that things will get better this year. I pray to God that people be reminded about God's gift to them: their brains and hearts; it seems that people have forgotten their ultimate treasures. There's been too many violence and violations in the name of religion. Clear reasoning must fight its way back on top, I hope it happens this year. With the elections coming, my hopes for change grow so that we can get back to the right direction.
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