Ideological Education
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On September 19, 1951, the first president of Indonesia, Soekarno, received a doctor honoris causa in law from Gajah Mada University (UGM), with Professor Notonegoro as his sponsor.
Soekarno’s acceptance speech “Science and Deed” reflected his views on science, ideology, politics and political leadership. Soekarno was, perhaps, the head of state with the largest number of honorary doctorates in the world. He received a total of 26 such degrees, comprising seven from local universities and 19 from abroad, including the United States, Canada, the Soviet Union, West Germany, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungry, Egypt, Turkey, Cambodia, North Korea, the Philippines, Brazil and Bolivia.
Regardless of the mountain of global academic respect bestowed upon him, Soekarno openly stated in his speech in front of the professors of the UGM Senate that, every time he received an honorary degree, he always asked himself whether he was worthy of accepting such an honor. Soekarno was never a scientist of any kind, he never established scientific theories that were accepted by the scientific community, and he never wrote scientific papers that scientists all over the world talked about. In his mind, he had made no significant contribution to science.
However, this had never discouraged him, as he said that he had never thought of himself as a scientist, and he had never wanted to become a scientist. “I am not the type of person to be satisfied with science an sich (per se). For me, science will only have full worth if it is used to serve my fellow men, or my nation, or all of humanity”.
Scientific works culminate in the establishment of scientific theories that are accepted and discussed by the scientific community, while Soekarno saw himself as first and foremost a political leader, his primary responsibility to activate his people and community toward a singular goalto be fought for through the practice of life. He often quoted the Dutch saying, “Kennis Zonder Daad is doelloos. Daad Zonder Kennis is richtingloos.”(Knowledge without deeds is goalless. Deeds without knowledge is aimless).
If life practice and deeds were the most important things for Soekarno, then what was the use of science and knowledge? Why did he read and study so many books, including scientific ones? He provided his personal answer: knowledge and science are needed to provide a clearer way so that life practices have a purpose that can be held accountable.
It is clear from this point that it is important to establish a theory on the direction and purpose for the life practices of the people and society. In Soekarno’s view, this theory was none other than Pancasila itself, which he believed could and should act as guidance in the direction and goal of Indonesians as an independent people. Pancasila is a theory of the practice of statehood, and functions as an ideology. It is also a theory of the life practices of Indonesians and Weltanschauung, or world view, which determines the global orientation of the Indonesian people.
“Was ist Weltanschauung?” What is Weltanschauung? This is the question philosopher Karl Jaspers asked in his sweeping and comprehensive study,Psychologie der Weltanschauungen.
Jaspers said that a world view, or Weltanschauung, is always philosophical, as it serves as knowledge of holism and universalism that is the very nature of philosophical knowledge. Its difference from philosophy is that Weltanschauung is not just knowledge of holism, but also that this knowledge brings realism to the soul as it becomes seelische Wirklichkeit der Wirkung (psychological reality of effect).
Tasks of political leaders
It is not clear whether Soekarno had ever read Jaspers, but he said that Pancasila was a philosophische grondslag, or a fundamental philosophy, and a philosophical foundation for Indonesia, and even for other countries in the world that wished to adopt it. However, this fundamental philosophy will never be manifest unless it is observed and appreciated as a life practice.
A state ideology, Soekarno said, had two main functions: a static function (uniting all elements of the society into one state) and a dynamic function (providing a direction toward which the state and the people should move). In this, the role of political leaders cannot be neglected, as they are the ones who activate the people to implement life practices that realize the goals as established by an ideology. In this role, political leaders have three responsibilities.
First, political leaders must be able to portray the aspirations of the state and society as goals and dreams that are appealing, attractive and interesting. Do we have politicians today that can portray social welfare for all as an attractive idea for everyone and an enticing idea for the youth? Do our politicians have the ability to talk about a just and civilized humanity as an aspiration and a value worth pursuing and to be manifest in our practical lives, as these ideals have an attractive, charming appeal that inspire? Do talks about nationhood still excite our sense of patriotism, pride and gratitude, that there is a place in this universe that is a homeland belonging to us, and to which we all belong?
Have we ever heard our politicians talk about deliberation and consensus as a uniquely Indonesian method of adaptation, acculturation and assimilation (“local genius”) in resolving problems and reaching rational consensus, while encouraging respect and dignity for those with different views? Above all, do we still speak God’s name with a feeling of tremendum et fascinans, that is, with fearful admiration of His holiness, and whether the remembrance of His name can prevent us from the desire and greed for power?
Second, it is not enough for political leaders to rely merely on attractiveness and charm. They have to also provide suggestions to society, so that the people feel they can achieve the aspirations that are portrayed. This feeling of capability will induce a belief in the will and ability to achieve one’s dreams and to turn those dreams into a reality within one’s soul, becoming the seelische Wirklichkeit of Jaspers. Suggestions become strong when what is spoken is illustrated by deed to the furthest extent possible. The feeling of capability will be reaffirmed by manifesting the feeling in tangible life practices.
Here, the culture of politics becomes important and plays an instrumental role in ideological education. Political culture is formed by the political elite: What the political elites do in their life practices – both good and bad – is a fashion show for the people to watch and emulate. The trickle-down effect in political culture occurs faster than the trickle-down effect in the distribution of economic welfare. The difference is that the lack of trickle-down in the distribution of economic welfare will not directly weaken economic growth. On the other hand, the lack of trickle-down in the life practices of the political elites will almost surely weaken the ideologies that need actualization within society.
Even an ideological education with a neatly arranged curriculum and the most modern methods and didactics can be easily foiled by a lack of support for political culture from the political elites through their life practices.
Third, political leaders must facilitate the conversion of the mere feeling of capability into real abilities. They must encourage a conversion from reality in the heart to reality in life practices. An analogy is that of tourism agents attracting their audience to a tourism destination through the panoramic views of a documentary film. They are able to trigger attraction and desire among the audience that will gradually urge a desire and a will to reach the intended destination. The decisive step is to make the audience begin to save money, limit daily spending, gather together funds, find as much information as possible on the destination, search for the cheapest method of travel, contact friends to go together and purchase tickets on a vacation package to either fly or sail to the dream destination. At this moment, the reality in the soul has been converted to the reality in life practices.
Loyalty and devotion
These are the three steps for a political leader to activate the people and drive them toward the aspirations contained within the ideology, as Soekarno said in a course he provided to Pancasila cadres at the State Palace on May 26, 1958. The three steps progress from attraction to suggestion to actualization.
If there is an impression that our state ideology Pancasila is being ignored today, the question is: at what phase of which step is there an obstacle to realizing the ideology of Pancasila? Is there a lack of effort to familiarize Pancasila in an attractive way? Do politicians not have the ability to provide suggestions on the people’s capability to implement Pancasila as a life practice? Is there a disruption in the transition from the feeling of capability to the manifestation of real ability to realize Pancasila as a guide for life practices in the state and nation of Indonesia?
Pancasila was proposed by their conceivers as a Staatsphilosophie (state philosophy) and a Lebensphilosophie (the life philosophy of the people as citizens of the state). As a state philosophy, Pancasila lives in policies and regulations created by the state and in actions by the state. Does every state policy and regulation consider all five Pancasila principles as guidance for state politics? This is a heavy job for the executive, legislative and the judicial branches in the regulations and decisions that they make.
Each time, they must consider: Do their decisions not contradict the principle of Belief in One God? Does a policy respect or does it neglect the principle of a just and civilized humanity, which believes that people fundamentally long for and are entitled to justice and have the ability to create a good civilization if they are respected in a proper and dignified manner as human beings? An old saying goes, “under the skin, we are all the same”. By referring to the principle of nationhood, is the country’s sovereignty still being maintained and safeguarded, and can the people enjoy protection from the state?
Do economic policies reinforce the creation of welfare for all people, instead of neglecting the ever widening gap between the rich and the poor, between the lucky and less lucky? Does our democracy prioritize political democracy and individual freedom only at the expense economic democracy and in neglect of the fact that unresolved inequalities can create injustice?
As a life philosophy, Pancasila declares that all Indonesians are equal, and that before the law we are all the same. However, this needs to be tried continuously through practice.
Differences between religious and cultural groups can be accommodated due to the common denominator of Indonesian citizenship. The troubles that arise from the various differences can be resolved if the assumptions on these differences can be changed, that differences are not dangerous threats but are instead opportunities for us to mature through learning what we do not know from within our own group and understanding why things we see as strange and trivial are important to others. Such new meanings do not necessarily have to change our own stand and beliefs, but can instead widen our perspective and enrich our experiences as more mature individuals and citizens that are open, democratic and possess a higher sense of humanity.
Pancasila can flourish as an ideology for Indonesians only through continuous efforts by both the state and society to implement it in life practices, as Soekarno reaffirmed many times. Pancasila can serve as our guidance if it is manifest in our souls and are actualized through action.
President Jokowi introduced an appealing slogan for his administration: “work, work, work”. The slogan would be better and even more vital if the work involved was not just any practice but is instead praxis in interpreting the aspirations of Pancasila in the life of the nation and the state. The Pancasila praxis must be tried and implemented continuously, either successfully or less so, but with unwavering loyalty and devotion. Soekarno once said, only by continuously flowing to the sea will a river be loyal to its spring.
IGNAS KLEDEN
Sociologist
