Teladan Gandhi

Suatu hari saya masuk ke sebuah kantor dan membaca satu kutipan dari John Maxwell: “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.”

Tentu bukan tanpa alasan ketika Maxwell meletakkan kata ‘knows the way’ di paling depan, karena ‘knows the way’ berarti seorang pemimpin harus menemukan dulu figur teladannya yang akan menjadi jalan baginya. Memang setiap orang – sekalipun ia adalah pemimpin - sebenarnya adalah seorang pengikut atau follower  juga. Di manakah di dunia ini pemimpin yang tidak memiliki figur yang dicontohnya? Mereka tetap butuh role-model, mereka perlu figur untuk dipuja.

Bahkan orang besar seperti Mahatma Gandhi mengatakan: “Jesus was certainly the highest example of one who wished to give everything, asking nothing in return, and not caring what creed might happen to be professed by the recipient.”

Gandhi menyebut Yesus sebagai teladan level tertinggi, dan ia benar-benar meneladani-Nya - salah satunya ketika ia melawan penjajahan Inggris dengan gerakan ‘non-violence’ yang terkenal kala itu. Gandhi meneladani Yesus, sehingga ia sebagai pemimpin besar menjadi teladan bagi seluruh rakyat India. Masa itu seakan-akan seluruh India adalah murid Kristus, karena seorang Gandhi yang memberikan seluruh hidupnya, seperti yang dilakukan oleh Kristus yang dikaguminya.

Merenungkan nasihat Maxwell, dan mengingat kenangan tentang Gandhi, kita tahu betapa pentingnya meneladani figur seorang teladan sebelum seseorang berani maju menjadi pemimpin. Tetapi apakah Kristus yang di India dijadikan teladan oleh Gandhi yang Hindu sudah dijadikan teladan oleh kita yang Kristen? Benarkah kita sudah meneladani nilai-nilai kasih, peduli dan pengorbanan pada sesama kita seperti Kristus? Gandhi yang mengenal betul orang-orang Kristen di India - karena ia banyak bergaul dengan mereka - suatu kali berkata, “Jesus is ideal and wonderful, but you Christians - you are not like him.”

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Serpong, Jun 2014

Titus J.

Losing Friends Amid Campaign Season

(published by The Jakarta Post on 30 Jun 2014. Click here)

The presidential campaign period is making the hearts of many beat rapidly as the two pairs of candidates are neck and neck.

The last two elections were easier to predict. Today, although the pair of Joko “Jokowi” Widodo-Jusuf Kalla have a higher approval rating according to many polls, their opponents Prabowo Subianto-Hatta Rajasa are trailing closing behind and narrowing the gap.

The game is getting more interesting, with support flowing to candidates, either from individual figures or groups. We see are seeing the elites exchange remarks on TV and getting quoted in newspapers. There is not a day without conversation about the presidential election.

Even pedicab and taxi drivers enthusiastically watch the presidential debates on TV. From a democratic point of view, this shows good progress for Indonesia because people are not apathetic. Indonesia should be proud of its people who — at all social levels — are eager to participate in this democratic fiesta.

Nevertheless, we need to be conscious of rivalries being born because some people see the election as a real war. Others regard it as nothing more than a game that will soon be over after the whistle blows, while the rest see it merely as entertainment.

As many TV and radio stations, as well as newspapers, are no longer independent since their owners are affiliated with particular candidates, many people are looking to social media to exchange thoughts and information. Technology has become an effective tool in influencing thought.

Hence, social media has become a battlefield for supporters as they promote their favorite candidate, often ridiculing their rivals.

Sadly, slander and libel has also become prevalent. We have seen attacks responded by counter attacks, claims followed by another claim.

This euphoria of course is not without impact. On the radio a couple days ago, a caller spoke about how the rowdy campaign period had resulted in broken friendships. It’s not wrong to have a preference. I, too, have a preference but I’d like to maintain my friendships. Now, let’s see our democracy flourish.

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Serpong 27 Jun 2014

Titus J.

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