Time to Grow Up

Time to Grow Up The beginning of the year is upon us. And this time it is not just the beginning of another year, but the beginning of a new decade. It is indeed time for deep reflection. Ten years after all, is a long time. If it were a person, in that time we would be witnessing the growth of an infant into a child in the threshold of young adulthood - the difference between a completely helpless and dependent creature and an intelligent being full of self-confidence and awareness of what's going on around her.

What have the last ten years given us and what have we produced during that time? We started the decade bruised and reeling from a monetary crisis 'krismon' that spiralled into a 'krisis total', emerging like a battered phoenix from the ashes of a burnt out New Order regime of dictatorship, fear and entrenched corruption, to embrace a New World of democracy, freedom and infinite possibilities.

Ten years ago we were still heady with our first taste if political and press freedom; still thrilled with the concept of democracy and the promise of reform or Reformasi.

Personally I had just left Indonesia's first private TV Channel RCTI to dabble in the burgeoning magic of the dotcom era and be a witness to the birth of the New Media, the world of The Internet, before joining another of the country's firsts - the first news channel, Metro TV.

And the Indonesian audience was given a taste of something they would find themselves addicted to. The taste of instant nrws, every hour, twenty four hours a day, live, on location and interactive.

For the first time the audience was exposed to Mandarin language, news and cultural broadcasts on television after decades of suppression. It was a breakthrough for the country and a novelty even for the Indonesian-Chinese community who found the language strange to the ears. Nevertheless, it marked a clear break from the past.

Ten years down the line, we now know that democracy isn't what it was cut out to be. It gives freedom of speech but it doesn't guarantee that truth is being spoken; it allows for differences in opinions but it doesn't mean all are valid or intelligent; it promotes freedom of expressions but it doesn't necessarily create tolerance and open-mindedness.

If anything, what we have learned in this past decade, is that democracy (being the rule of the majority) exposes the weaknesses that form this country's common denominator, which is lack of education and all the other things that go with ignorance, such as poverty, ill-health, intolerance and general lack of capacity.

Deprived of political rights for over three decades we are quick to learn the art of politicking and slow to master the skills of statesmanship and leadership. Bereft of power and decision-making for so long, we are now adept at abusing that power and yet clumsy at empowering the people.

We are quick to learn how to express our opinions and yet fail to listen to the opinions of others. We are good at arguing but only insofar as to voice our emotions and problems and not to produce sound judgment and solution based on reason and analysis.

Some of us even look to the past with a touch of nostalgia for an orderly life where someone was always there to tell us what to do, showing us where to go and things were more or less predictable. And life didn't seem to be full of bad news. At least not that you could see much of it on the television.

Not like these days, where every other day the news would break on yet another natural disaster, another human tragedy, more political scandals and terrorist attacks.

If there is a lesson that we need to learn from the last decade of being a democratic country is that, like freedom, democracy is not given. It is earned. And the only way to earn it is to learn to foster and nurture it for what it is. A privilege given to those who could assume it with responsibility and with full understanding of the way it works.

We have spent enough time these last few years fiddling with it and trying to discover how it works. We have made many mistakes, which in themselves are not a bad thing as mistakes are a short cut to learning. We have had sufficient time to revel in the novelty of our freedom and to be drunk with our new found power to pick and choose our leaders.

We cannot however, forever be nursing our hangover or repeating the same mistakes over again like an underachieving teenager.

The time has come to grow up and set a proper foundation for the next decade of this country's future. Before old age overtakes us and we discover that not only have we failed to improve ourselves but we have also squandered countless opportunities.