On my previous posting, a commenter named Raiyen warned me that criticising your country could be meant as a sign of weakness, of inferiority complex. After I explained my points, he then clarifies his comment adding that his previous statement was based on his “fact-findings” on some his friends in Australia who feel so down seeing the state-of-the-art infrastructure in the country, compared it with our own with a head-and-shoulder-lying-low kind of attitude.
Well, I’d be grateful first to Raiyen for that reminder. It inspires me more to explain further regarding this issue.
To begin with, I’ll reiterate once more why I often criticise and encourage those who’re so critical to Indonesian government policies, to the nation weaknesses and to each individuals of Indonesian: because I love Indonesia!
Secondly, being critical to ourselves, to our government policies, to our own nation, etc does mean self-criticism. We learn from history of great nations, that a great nation will only raises and is up to the expectation if we, as an insider, are critical and are regularly restrospect what’s wrong and what’s right. Our wrong history should not repeat, while the right one should be made better. The advancement of the West is not made in a day. It’s through a bulk of processes throughout centuries, dating back to the 11th century AD when the West civilization at its lowest state. At that time, the Western intellectuals starting waking up, realizing its minuses and pluses and fighting back from there.
Thirdly, there always be controversies–pros and cons– in the process. Those who agree with any kind of criticism and those who are not. While the former are those who have a long term vision in mind, the latter simply are those who love the status quo and enjoyed the stagnant condition.
Fourthly, being critical doesnt mean inferior. There should be clear differences between critical and inferior complex: while the former knows what the pluses and minuses, and move further to make it better; the latter just admiring everything from the more advanced nation without even knowing or critical, and hence, parrotting blindly whatever comes from outside. Unfortunately, I found a plenty of such latter phenomena in our country in which so many people just swallow up everything trendy who comes from “there”.
Fifth, critical does have to do with patriotism in its truest sense of the meaning. Never let the term “nationalism” and “patriotism” being hijacked by the corrupt Indonesian officials who enjoys so much the lion share of Indonesian money illegally and blame every citizen who criticise them as “unpatriotic and un-nationalistic”.[]
