Issues in the Pancasila Ecosystem

KOMPAS/HERU SRI KUMORO

People join the Rajut Kejut march carrying a knitted banner that reads "Knitting Diversity" during the 21 April 2019 car-free day on Jl. Sudirman, Jakarta. The march urged all citizens to reunite in diversity after the 2019 elections.

Even though they may not be chants or prayers that have been recited for hundreds or thousands of years, the values of Pancasila should also be spoken continuously to fill the national consciousness.

If the collective consciousness is only half-filled with Pancasila values, whether you like it or not, there will be an empty space. This space can easily be filled with other ideologies, which could cause a tempest.

It is necessary to continuously nurture national values and the national spirit, not only to strengthen the nation’s existence but also to prevent threatening foreign ideologies from taking over.

Such efforts are a must – an essential, a sine qua non – for nations that want to grow larger, stronger and more respectable.

Witness and observe how leaders of the United States, for instance, constantly speak at every level of every generation about the dream of becoming a great nation that upholds the values of democracy, social welfare, civil rights, human rights and family values.

Similar words are also included in the credentials of US ambassadors to foreign countries.

US leaders convey these phrases at every opportunity, repeatedly and tirelessly, in order to preserve and nurture the flame of that nation. Similar words are also included in the credentials of US ambassadors to foreign countries.

Another example is France. Since the French Revolution of 1789, the country’s leaders have never ceased promoting liberty, equality and fraternity. These principles are repeated to reaffirm hope.

India is equally interesting in its constant advocacy of Mahatma Gandhi’s principles of swadeshi (independence), ahimsa (nonviolence) and satyagraha (truth).

Surely, not every nation or state can build an ecosystem for continuously and tirelessly disseminating, internalizing and institutionalizing the fundamental values of the nation. But what about Indonesia?

Pancasila ecosystem

Thus far, the narration and articulation of Pancasila values have ebbed and flowed, and not been planned carefully. There must be a systematic, structured and massive effort to promote Pancasila values, the culture of gotong royong (mutual assistance) and deliberation and other principles in all state speeches.

Discourses on Pancasila cannot be allowed to flow and ebb irregularly to the absence of continuity. Pancasila should not be discussed only when we have been shaken by a storm of foreign ideologies that contradict our national identity.

We need a cultural strategy so that discussions of Pancasila are not heard faintly in narrow and damp rooms on the periphery, far from the public stage that has been hijacked by opportunistic politicians who lack far-reaching visions.

Furthermore, Pancasila should not be mere rhetoric used to exploit false awareness, lacking the bursts of passion that shake the body and soul towards improvement.

Cynicism and derision regarding Pancasila amid unrest and loud calls to replace the state’s foundation must not be allowed. The stakes are too high and the consequences would be severe if these political and ideological adventurers are left unchecked in their efforts to undermine Pancasila as the state ideology.

It is necessary to strengthen Pancasila values amid the current siege of other ideologies, the waves of radicalism and extremism and the hoax epidemic that has caused chaos in minds, consciences and society.

Pancasila, as an antidote and orientation of the nation’s values, provides a highly strategic foothold for the state, which must be developed into a solid ecosystem.

In such an ecosystem, the efforts to disseminate, internalize and institutionalize Pancasila values and the gotong royong culture can be coordinated, synchronized and synergized properly.

Institutionalization can be achieved by consolidating laws and regulations in central and regional governments, ensuring that they do not contradict Pancasila values.

The programs to strengthen Pancasila values and the gotong royong culture must be done in an integrated manner. Learning them at school will not be enough. All officials, bureaucrats and community leaders must articulate Pancasila values and the gotong royong culture in all speeches, at all times and in all places.

Such a systematic effort is neither new nor excessive. It is an effective strategy for building awareness on the importance of preserving national values that is commonly found in many countries. Long Live Pancasila!