Idiocracy

Idiocracy. It’s not even a proper word. Last Sunday, me and some of my friends are having dinner at one from all the many malls in Jakarta. As what friends do when they are together, we talked our time off. Yet unlike any other group of friends, most of our conversation involves around movies, science-fiction and basically nerds-related stuff. There was this talk about the NASA’s project trip to Mars and it ends to us talking about a particular movie called “Idiocracy”. The basic storyline involves a guy who was “stored” for half a century only to awaken into a world that is dumb, and became the smartest person on earth. I have never watch this movie. My friend, who have seen it, told me that people became stupider as the population that are considered smart are unwilling to have lots of children and the part of the population who are not that bright, breeds almost every day. Short saying, the smart part of the population are finally overshadowed and in the end obliterate from the face of the earth.

The next day, as I was riding the Commuter Line (PT KAI) to work, crumpled desperately as usual; I begin thinking. The movie might have some sense of truth in it. The world is becoming more barbaric (if not stupid) by the year. From the simple example of the condition of our public transport, people have less and lesser sense of humanity in them; if not disappear entirely. The need to survive overpower the humanity inside us. That’s what barbaric people used to do, and what we are doing now. The problem going on between the Governor of Jakarta and the Legislature (DPRD Jakarta) can be one of the good example of what I’m trying to convey in this writing. People will definitely take sides on this matter; either to support the Legislature or to support the Governor. Debates can tend to go in a more personal arguments and even slander; mocking one’s race or religion. No. I am not taking sides. I’m showing that each parties have their fault. The only logical reason to see from this issue is that both parties have either a huge ego or both parties have an agenda with this APBD debate; or one of each. If both parties have no ego and no hidden agenda with the APBD, most likely both would be willing to sit together with a cool head to figure out the solution. This issue is not their own issue, this affects the people, specifically, the civil servant in Jakarta; of whom should be in their care and protection.

Same comment goes to the problematic KPK vs. KAPOLRI. People, and even my closest friends are all shouting to the President that “Criminalization towards KPK should stop”. Even the suspect Bambang Widjojanto, is stating the same note as well. To stop criminalization towards KPK (Corruption Eradication Commission). My first initial honest opinion of this is “why?” If they believe that they have done nothing wrong why won’t they go through trial? Have they lost faith in our country’s judicial system? Or are they simply not one hundred percent sure that what they did was “not wrong”? A note to think about.

Chaos are seeding in the community and a wrong take on certain views can be as devastating. Take feminism for example. According to Beasley and Hawkesworth ;

“Feminism is a collection of movements and ideologies that share a common goal: to define, establish and achieve equal political, economic, cultural, personal and social rights for women”

So basically, feminism is a movements or ideologies to give women an equal rights, in all aspects of their life. A same chance to fight in the same field as men. Not a world that is lenient to woman; woman-dominating world. No. The same fighting chance as men. Take the regulation on 30% woman quotas in politics for example. Woman are given additional leniency than men in politics. This 30% quota is like a saving ticket for woman in parliament’s seat. In an analogy, at the battlefield, everyone are given the same guns, yet woman are given 30% more ammunitions than men. That is not equality in my eyes.

The same fighting chance means that everyone is seen based on their merits, not gender. This mindset of always giving a hand to woman is in fact, a bit weakening. It weakens womens’ fighting spirit. Just like evolution, the giraffe won’t have a long neck if people force the tree to grow at the giraffes’ height or even lower. Yet, I understand that this regulation exist only to encourage women interest in politics. So, even though the way might be wrong, but the idea can be tolerated. Furthermore, another misperception on feminism is that sometimes, the wrong person can take this ideology and use it for their own benefits. Why has women always demand equality or empowerment in white collar jobs; CEO, office worker, etc. Why aren’t there woman screaming “I want to have an equal chance in being a plumber/construction workers/other blue collar jobs”. Makes you wonder, doesn’t it?

Another wrong take on feminism is when woman tends to think that to achieve feminism, they need to be more like a men, they need to achieve the highest position in works or being a housewife is a step back from feminism. Therefore, holding back on marriage and having kids. Which brings us back to my initial thought; the movie idiocracy. Is that where we are heading to? Is that the future that we will have? A barbarian community with the wrong ideas of ideologies and religion?

Those thoughts scares me and makes me sad, hopeless, and disgusted at the same time. The raging crowd in Stasiun Tanah Abang, consisting of people fighting and clawing their ways out of the train station makes me angrier, to those people and more to myself, actually. I took a step back and let people go through the exit gate. While I was watching them with mixed feelings that are mostly negative, a little girl with her mother walks past me. She was holding a white rose in her right hand and her left hand is holding tight to her mother while they blend with the other. Maybe that’s what this country needs right now. A little white rose, representing our future generation that has not been corrupted by any of those idiocracy.

Grahita Disti Pramesthie, International Undergraduate, Faculty of Law, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta.