Foreign students taking part in the "Summer Camp 2017" enthusiastically clean and paint the At-Taqwa Mosque in Ketenger village, Baturraden, Banyumas, Central Java, Saturday (20/5). The activity, which was attended by 26 students from 15 countries, was held by Muhammadiyah University of Purwokerto to promote peace and harmony of cultural and social life in Indonesia
The importance of a cultural strategy needs to be stressed again, because it is vital for every nation, and Indonesia is no exception.
Especially for the nation and state of Indonesia, the development of a cultural strategy is increasingly needed to face a recent wave of change disrupting value orientations. The wave of change, which includes views and ideologies that differ from those of Pancasila, weakens social cohesion and disrupts mutual trust.
The weakening of social cohesion shows, among other things, in the results of polls carried out by Kompas’ Research and Development division in May. Some of the respondents said that solidarity had deteriorated. A weakening of tolerance among people of different religion or ethnicity was also recognized. In fact, the notion of tolerance and social solidarity, which is expressed in the spirit of working together, constitutes the culture of the Indonesian nation.
It needs to be pointed out that the weakening of tolerance and social cohesion is not solely the result of the wave of change seen on the world stage. The pressure points of national life are also characterized by internal factors, which stem from ineffective power management and an elite that tends to behave in corrupt ways.
A breakthrough is needed to overcome a socioeconomic gap deemed increasingly worrisome. Equitable development needs to be carried out in a serious and consistent way. Economic and political settlement is very important, at least in the short term, to prevent social frustration.
Equally important is the cultural settlement to ensure long-term and sustainable solutions. Economic and political approaches to addressing social inequality need to be based on cultural values that emphasize honesty, truth, kindness and equality before the law. It is important to build a cultural strategy to guarantee a commitment for the improvement and fairness of social welfare.
Without such a strategy, cultural development faces disorientation and is easily shaken by outside influence, it or remains trapped in the tug of war between narrow interests of the elite and domestic political adventurers. The question, of course, is who should start, and when and where. That is the challenge that must be responded to immediately by all stakeholders in the interest of the nation and state if they do not want the situation to deteriorate amid the current flow of change.
