Nationalism: Division in Unity

While bearing the status as a language that unites the world, English has some drawbacks. As ‘we’ reflects the impression of integrality between many people, it brings an image of robustness and is more convincing than ‘I’. ‘We’ is often mentioned hundreds of thousands of times by numerous leaders to drive public trust to anything they have to say, when in a particular context, ‘we’ is exclusive – it doesn’t always refer to nor involve individuals they are talking to.

In English, we (subject) and us (object) are plural third-person pronouns that come in handy when it comes to public concentration purposes; thanks to their exclusivity and inclusivity stretchiness. As an American president (for example) speaks before a United Nations summit affirming the urgency of condemning Russia's military operation in Ukraine, he might be saying, “’We’ condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine,” while ‘we’ does not represent the entire UN member states contextually.

The percentage of people who earn living in the language field  are low in numbers compared to the world’s population, perhaps even lower if avant-garde Artificial Intelligence (AI) has reached a point that enables it to speak multiple languages fluently. Regardless of any upcoming progress after us, language remains a bridge to knit connections with those outside of ourselves. Language has given shape to everything that comes out and comes into us; which in turn plays the role of a tool to build a better life. While Subcomandante Marcos said, “our word is our weapon,” language is military as both have tight restrictions and prohibitions.

A root of language discrimination

Some Muslim-majority countries seem shy to respond to the wave of Iran mass protests that have been heating up since end of September 2022, probably because they assume such a movement is a harsh criticism against Islam sharia. The root of the civil unrest is actually beyond religious matters, albeit sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini (22) when she was under Iran’s morality police arrest for not wearing a headscarf in compliance with the rules. Cultural and language inequality and discrimination against a particular ethnic group in West Asia is the fire in the husk that burns the Persian atmosphere these days.

Once upon a time, Hasanwayhid, Annazid, and Ayyubid dynasties were the greatest Kurdish rulers of their times; unfortunately, the tribe suffered ceaseless persecution in the modern days. Ill fate of the Kurds began in 1920 following the collapse of Türkiye’s Ottoman Empire, the final outcome of World War I. Mustafa Kemal Attaturk, Türkiye’s president at the time, rejected Treaty of Sevres clause on the formation of special autonomous region for pre-WWI Ottoman Kurdish people.

Long story short, Treaty of Lausanne (1923) was initiated as a response to Türkiye’s objection and ruled out any utterance of home for the Kurds. Consequently, a large number of Kurds drifted away to four countries (Iran, Iraq, Türkiye, and Syria) while keep fighting for their autonomous region. Such demand, however, was not only expressed through demonstrations. Terrorism acts have been the color of their struggles on several occasions, by and large, after a prominent Kurdish figure, Abdullah Öcalan, declared the formation of Marxist-Leninist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in 1978. PKK, as well as its members and partisans, have been designated as a terrorist group by many countries, including European Union and Türkiye.

Persian (Farsi) has been ruled in as Iran’s national language for decades as to replace languages of sub-ethnic minorities, such as Kurds, Khuzestan Arabs, Azerbaijan Turks, Turkmenistan, and Balochistan. Under the Islamic Republic of Iran, minority local languages perceived as obsolete, and outdated; hence, a restriction to learning and teaching local/minority languages at schools placed. Breaking this rule means heavy punishment and imprisonment. Did you ever assume this phenomenon is an excess of Shiite Islam versus Sunni Islam eternal rivalry? Beware! Don’t let religious sentiment obscure your horizon.

Terrorism is nothing like fast food; there are always long stories behind a terrorist’s decision to walk down a dark path. On the understanding that every human on Earth needs concession for their existence, a language ban means cultural discrimination; you might be deprived of the right to exist in this world when somebody denounces your culture. Due to the fact that culture is the product of people’s will to create, sense, and initiate, cultural discrimination equals a slow bloodless genocide of their intellectuality.

Fear of getting sick effect

2023 trend forecast by a JPMorgan analyst read, deglobalization is going on an uptrend during the year. Deglobalization here means the West ceases to be the mecca in economic development. JPMorgan is, for sure, not a psychic who looks through the crystal ball and proclaims his prophecy out of thin air as he gazes into the future. Such prediction that solely relied on logic and plentiful events during 2022, sounded like a mega-class business pessimism about the current state of developed (West) nations' domination over developing (East) ones.

Global 2020 COVID-19 lockdowns got our eyes opened that total isolation couldn’t safeguard humans from the plague, as viruses and bacteria are always able to locate the tiniest cracks to infiltrate and gnaw at their immunity. Those who have been ill, either physically or psychologically, since before the virus got in were easy targets for COVID-19. This was like a veiled lesson about a phenomenon when disease and sadness went savage following the transmission of an outsider matter with aim to end one’s life. As reported by some pandemic stories it was lockdowns, instead of virus, that severed the sickness of patients and their families.

JPMorgan analyst’s prediction above seems to signal that global lockdowns may return anytime shortly for different purposes. Lockdown is currently pressed on Russia with 6800 sanctions, also international isolation, as “punishments” for its ongoing military operation in Ukraine. Will the most massive lockdowns against a nation succeed preserving other nations’ safety? Who plays the role of the deadly disease in this drama, does it Russia or the nations who put the pressure on it?

The Kurds' post-WWI tales and Russians in Ukraine are no different; they are the remains of glorious pasts. As the heyday ended, the supposed people to rely on and protect from succumbed to personal or faction interests, and outside pressures. We could not ask Attaturk why he rejected approval of the designated establishment of the Kurds autonomous region. But we can still ask the Western press why they avoided exposing anything meaningful on discrimination against Russian language and culture in Ukraine with similar degree of details. It’s hardly believable if such a cold-shoulder response excuse due to the fear of communism virus, though, since a few hardcore democracy countries like Sweden, Germany, and France used to and still shelter more than a few PKK members that were once under the influence of Leninism somewhere in their phase of life.

Nationalism is love?

Nationalism is an alias for love for the motherland, often used nowadays to express calls to prioritize local products, state interests, or country-wide fair and equitable development. Homogenous states on day one they were born unlikely to face critical issues to uniting their citizens. Given that they are talking and behaving in compliance with a specific standard, authorities know exactly what they need, and are (supposedly) confident in driving the country’s ship toward common goals as one nation.

A legion of us long for the past, for the reason that it was simpler than today. The good news is a bunch of nationalist leaders nod their heads and can relate with us on this yearning. With globalization and an era of openness, it was easier for people to roam the world, physically or virtually, from cross regions to cross countries. Human aliens get into our lives, bringing their customs, culture, and values respectively, impressing us with their unforgettable uniqueness. Alien viruses mesmerize, screw up the homogenous society’s mindset and behaviors, and are the authorities’ headache altogether.

With that being said, heterogenous society swings in a completely different challenge. Iran makes Farsi the official language as a part of the cultural standard that tends to neglect the minority languages. Is there no other solution for it? Only its authorities know the answer. Compulsory enforced standard enactment was not only in Iran, for real. A living witness (now deceased) once involved in and confessed to a movement of religious homogeneousness in an Indonesian remote island years ago, when people there were obliged to leave their local religion and must convert to Islam, Protestant Christianity, or Catholicism. Such standard enactment was then a policy to unite heterogeneous people further by getting rid of diversity.

It was almost effortless to unify tribes, races, ethnicities, and religions during war, since they had one common goal defeating the enemy and, like it or not, they must thrive and work together. But a perfect life is a hidden test – troubles came for them when the goal reached. Men (and women) are hardly ever satisfied, they will keep evolving for the best of life. Nevertheless, the ideal life standard is never the same for each of us. The unity loses its strength, weakened by the collided interests – therefore, diversity has to be nullified. So, is nationalism love?

Living Securely With Shameful History

Accusations and judgments are not only for humans, but also non-living matter like monument. Here, the word ‘monument’ means statues, pillars, mighty and a solid building structure built as the memorial for an honored figure, or as a historic event remembrance. Among these thousands of majestic monuments scattered all around the world, some of them have “grey” backgrounds. Russian Monument near Bangui University, Central Africa Republic is a monument that falls into this category.

Russian Monument is an unofficial name of the monument that depicts three men and one armed woman protecting an African mother holding her two children. There’s no inscription on the monument, neither date that details the time of its establishment nor its construction. Russian Monument is a name given by the locals as to dedicate their gratitude for a group of Russian fighter assistance in the wake of civil war between local government against the rebels.

These Russian fighters are no ordinary soldiers. Famously known as Wagner Group, they are mercenaries and there is from little to no internet sources make positive stories about this group. They are accused of being involved in robberies, rapes, and persecutions over the civilians where they were fighting in wars for money. Central Africa is just one of such locations. That’s how mainstream media perceived them. Nevertheless, the Russian Monument existence is real, regardless the controversies that follow.  This group also defended Russia in its special military operation in Ukraine to liberate Donbass from the terror of Neo-Nazis.  

 

Ashamed of the past

Most of us are proud of the old generations’ works, achievements, and greatness. They established ancient times massive buildings; created myths, and also fought for the sake of our motherland’s freedom from oppression. They had opened paths for us to see the world… However, our predecessors were just humans. Just like us, they have taken on and dealt with many things that are unacceptable and uncomprehend by others; their successors, in this case. Furthermore, the next generations have seen that they cannot feel pride; they were ashamed of the old generations’ actions. Thus, they were ashamed of being the next generation. Human wokeness is a mystery when sometimes we just being woke by any impropriety after we saw it as normality for so long. Or, is that so?

The Confederacy history (1861-1865) was mainly about the armed conflict between the American legitimate government in the North and several self-proclaimed states in the South; began with the failure to agree on the best practices of treating Afro-American people humanely. Confederacy has been considered a disgrace by most Americans since 2017, a final response to some tragic events inspired by Confederate core values. George Floyd's murder in 2020 was the climax. Some monuments as the memorial remembrance of Confederate heroes were destroyed or removed because they were seen as dead objects that pulled the trigger inside generations’ minds to preserve slavery and discrimination against Afro-American and other non-white citizens.

Around a year after the Black Lives Matter that shook the USA, monument demolition has become a new trend in Europe. The sacrifice of fallen Soviet Union soldiers in World War II is no longer regarded as deserving to remember by a few European countries, as a result of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine. Although Euromaidan was the ultimate cause behind the loudness of war machines deployed to defend the Donbass people, thousands of sanctions are coming for Russia, followed by attempts to wipe the merit of its predecessors out of history. Most of the West bloc – a large number of countries, international organizations, sports governing associations, multinational companies, online platforms, and several of art and academic prominent institutions probably aware that great nations respect their heroes. Even so, they are ashamed to honor Russian heroes. 

 

Change the past

“Learn from the past,” we heard too many times. What about changing the past? To get to this goal, we don’t need a time machine to wander through the old days and change the course of history. Some people have found a more practical approach that doesn’t need trillions of money to create an advanced algorithm engine to reverse the time. That is, shifting the current point of view to figure out the anomaly of the past which doesn’t comply with the standards and norms.  

One of the legendary figures that fell “victim” to this experiment was Joan of Arc, a French heroine who led her people to rise against Britain's imperialism in the Mid Century. Joan of Arc had successfully driven the strong will of French soldiers even long before feminism when the common activities of young females of that period were doing house chores and awaited to be married. For most Europeans, Joan was too macho, too bloody brave, and she didn’t deserve to be recognized as a woman. She was not only accused of practicing witchcraft and burned alive – she was perceived as not a real woman centuries after her heartbreaking death.

The exceptionality of a building that was erected before modernization was viewed as heresy by a particular point of view, hence, it has to be eliminated. Borobudur Temple once got the stigma and ill fate; rumors read, several Indonesian temples suffered the same. Some said such occurrences were no less than political orchestration led by a specific group or person. Some worried that historical revelation may divide people if it is discussed too deep from various contradictory points of views.

The past has shown that humans were tireless during their search to prove what’s right and what should be. Feeling ashamed may obscure humans' confidence to move forward when everything seems grey in the haze. Humans are uncomfortable amidst a grey zone, not black nor white, as we wish for to-the-point guidance on how to walk through the mist. Such a thing is not a mistake. A process is a necessity for anyone to own a secure mindset amidst any shapes of uncertainty in the future. Isn’t that a group, society, nation, and country stand up upon layers of the foundation laid by many generations?

Careful Charity is A Fair Move

At the start of the 2020 pandemic, calls for more charity and to help others were voiced aloud around the world. Musicians organized online fundraise concerts to support health workers, former students took to the streets to give free meals to everybody. For those who lost their income as a result of the world lockdowns at the time, free food was the cure for hunger. It is human nature that moves easily and feels pity for the pain of others when they themselves need to cope with a more or less the same situation. There are not a few people among us who, in the middle of money problems, cannot remain cold as they see other people's suffering through social media. They project the burdens from Mondays to Sundays into the minds and reflect the ache to all those who have similar circumstances.

“Among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver,” Maya Anglou said. Mathematically presumed, the donor will obviously incur losses as he/she gives things which were their personal belongings. So how could there be any relief if they voluntarily give up their property? Are we hoping that our donations to others will come back in a different way? Was it an unconditional donation? In my opinion, the answers are in a way homework to do.

Luckily for you, if you feel like a person who still have something to provide to others in need. If not, most people will turn to social media to express their sympathy and our friends online may never notice if it really comes from the depths of our hearts. Or, this is merely our attempt to project our misfortunes to someone else. In spite of the impending controversies of our day, social media is still worthy of being a space to channel freedom of expression and to call for help.

Reflecting on Russia-Ukraine conflict, Ukraine President Voldymyr Zelensky once managed his Telegram (which ironically belongs to Russian IT millionaire Pavel Durov) channel to draw sympathies and to raise weaponry support by European, North American, and even Asian countries. As the outbreak of Russia’s special military operation started on February 24th, 2022, some countries have shipped old stockpiles of weaponry from the Soviet era, such as S-300 missile system donated by Slovakia and Mil MI-17 helicopters from the United States as part of Ukraine’s $33 billion support package. The Russian military has stated that its only objective is to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine, avoiding civilians casualties. All this heavy support, in turn, will wind up in smoke while the Russian troops destroy them. A report reads, the West massive weapon supplies which escape the demolition will go to the black market later on, considering Ukraine is also well-known as one of the largest weaponry black market in Europe 

Off-target aid

A few years ago, small groups of people were walking around my city's traffic lights asking for donations from passersby on the streets. A national flag belongs to a country with decades of seemingly endless conflicts carried with them. A friend of mine asked me how we could ensure that the donations we have made would end up in that country. News flash – charity or donation fraud turns to be a common phenomenon in the United States of which FBI decided to open special communication lines for the victims of this scheme. Reuters described some donators’ common mistakes, such as donate less than $25 and being “too generous.” When the donators gave small money, this might pushed charity fraudsters to ask for more, Reuters said. It reminds us to the Mr. Zelensky's emotional plea for help Telegram post which has led some people to believe protraction of Russians hostilities.

Those who are not in the full capacity to donate money or goods tend to choose expressing their concern on social media channels, hoping to raise people’s solidarity and influence them to make real donations. Again, Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine has justified most of people to think that the assailant is a brutal aggressor, not deserve to be part of global community regardless the surround of the situation. The friction between the weak and the strong has become stories of eternal fictional inspirations, repeatedly displayed en masse as doctrine against its trivial viscosity. As Russia paralyzed a large number of Ukrainian military infrastructures, we don’t need to wait too long to see how the majority of netizens worldwide would react, particularly NATO and European Union countries.

Condemnation of Russia, Russian President Vladimir Putin, its military forces, and Russian civilians flooded all over social media channels since then. Moreover, people’s platform Facebook has previously allowed hate speech against Russians before suspended the policy not long after. Nevertheless, it’s more humane for everyone to respond current situation in Ukraine emotionally. A study has revealed that users who turn to the internet for entertainment, communication, and information searching purposes are likely showing more aggressive behavior, hostility, and psychologically able to overcome context information influence. Meaning, a gamer may get easily moved and spread Russophobia upon seeing a short tweet on Twitter about mass grave of genocide victims of Russian troops without examining further the information plausibility.

Poisonous” help"

"We don't have to be rich to do charity," says a carpenter who once worked for our family a few years back. Of course, everyone can start a charity. Continued discouragement due to lack of money can contribute to a weak mindset, self-sabotage, a sense of lack and a loss of power to overcome obstacles. Charity, no matter how small it is, can uplift one’s spirit to walk on their daily routines. Even so, amid higher inflation ever and the rising of living cost, charity serves to be a challenge for those who takes it as a must or simply care for others. Some people try to reassess the helpfulness of their charity, whether they are instilling laziness instead. What about the risk of charity fraud that was referred to earlier?

The identical reasoning should prevail as you feel an emotional push and look for giving your support for a cause, phenomenon, or any matter in the spotlight of trend. Charity or donation should have been given out to any individual, group, or any party, we recognize and understand precisely its background, activity, vision, and their effort to deal with the hardship. Remember, the stage has changed. Our comments and likes on social media represent our “donations” to discourse, opinion, idea, or concepts that may eventually unfold a glimpse of ourselves and what’s hidden inside our soul. An active user has the appeal to charm dark web bandits’ eyes that seek to recruit unique individuals reinforcing their reign.

My support for Russia, mostly begun as a fad and curiosity to learn about its history, ideology, political view, policies, as well as its people nature, since the college days until the present time. I don’t always agree with all of these. However, United States and its allies’ ambition toward a unipolar world needs some criticism for the sake of global equality principle. As of now, Russia (and the countries that backed it up) is the only high-powered one to disarrange the West on their way to accomplish gols.

Not World War III, It's The End of Liberalism Instead

 “Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it,” George Santayana said. Nerve war between Russia versus Europe and United States of America, on the background of getting Ukraine as the new member of NATO, has turned to be a full-fledged weapons conflict since February 24^th, 2022. Russian President Vladimir Putin keeps affirming that the aim of Russia’s special military ops is “denazification” and “demilitarization” Ukraine arm forces, eliminating the ideology and ultranationalist minions that have spread terror over thousands of Russians in Ukraine. Particularly, the residents of Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republic (DLPR) that have fallen victims since 2014. The world seems close its eyes for the human rights abuses over the years, until Russia decides to obliterate Ukraine military facilities while avoid civilian casualties.

Who and what is the far-right extremist group that overly being accused as the virus for Ukraine society? A source links its existence to the excess of a mass demonstration, which ended with the dismissal of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych in 2014, commonly known as Euromaidan. With regard of its history as ex-Soviet Union territory, the West tends to see Euromaidan as Ukrainians’ “moment of victory” over foreign authority, since Yanukovych was pro-Russia. Protracted within the euphoria of being free from Russia’s influence, a group of young Ukrainians who used to be the Euromaidan’s driving forces have turned to be predacious mob without any strong figure to lead them.

Long story short, Ukraine’s nationalism slogan changed its course to ultranationalism. Such as a group that called itself “The Right Sector.” It was not only boasting its pride of the Ukraine’s identity, but also hate speech against feminists, LGBT, and foreigners. Nevertheless, the Ukrainian far-right root had begun to grow since 1929 with the establishment of the Ukrainian Nationalist Organization (OUN), which became more radical during its war against Poland. OUN was later split into two separate organisations; OUN(b) under Stepan Bandera and OUN(m) headed by Andrii Mel'nyk. Two leaders with totalitarian attitudes, anti-Semites and fascists alike. With the expansion of the Nazis in Ukraine, OUN (m) pledged its loyalty to Adolf Hitler. Just some moments after the Euromaidan, Ukraine’s nationalist government rewrote its history, such as deletion of Soviet Russia figures from its history books and the designation of fascist figure like Stepan Bandera as Ukrainian national heroes.

 

History repeats itself

The European Union and United States, eventually, fulfilled their vows to restrict Russia by economic means if President Putin (and he did) took drastic steps to deploy Russian military forces in Ukraine. Since the start of its special military operation in Ukraine, Russia has accepted thousands of sanctions and restrictions cover up from economic, trade, financial, technology, information/ mass-media, energy, and flight ban over made in Russia planes and its airlines. Restrictions have spread to certain free political zones, such as art, literature and sports. As anti-Russian sentiment has grown throughout the world, Russian endemic cats and dogs are prohibited from taking part in pet competition. Social media, which was previously committed to freedom of expression, allowed hate messaging against Russia on their platforms.   

This phenomenon is almost a repetition of shameful history happened in early 20^th century, as Nazi nailed its grip upon German soil. On behalf cramped nationalism built upon ethnicity, Nazi had imposed an anti-Jews law. Hundreds of thousands Jews were fired from jobs, their assets were frozen and seized, including their business and companies. Jewish artists and athletes were banned from public appearance, when as well as education shut down for the Jewish children. Along with Russians, Poles and Romanians, Jewish communities were put in concentration camps for forced slavery before the Nazis took their lives.

The tragedy of the modern era, widely known as the Holocaust, has inspired numerous movies and novels, some of which have won international recognition. Nonetheless, these works of art have also inspired some groups of people to choose a path like the New Nazi Age. Anti-racist unity and slogans are powerless and have failed to stay neutral in the face of the Ukrainian conflict. Under the enormous international pressures, some countries such as China, India, Israel, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Venezuela, Serbia, Pakistan, Cuba, Belarus, Mexico, Myanmar, and most of Central Asia countries have asserted that they will not impose sanctions to and will maintain their diplomatic relationships with Russia. A blend of countries with a "unique" and diverse history. However, the general public, mostly the West, is doubting this prospective alliance on how long they are willing to stand and face threats, pressures, and unilateral sanctions by United States and the gang. One thing is certain, Russia iscommited not to change its stance, as confirmed by Foreign Minister Deputy Sergey Vershinin.

 

The end of an era

Just prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, Industrial Revolution 4.0 discourse became a trend in some countries. The term Industrial Revolution 4.0 itself was popularised thanks to and contributed by Klaus Schwab, the founder of the World Economic Forum, in 2015. It is a rapid shift in technology, industry, and social models and processes in the 21st century driven by increased interconnectivity and smart automation. The changes have taken the form of artificial intelligence, genetic editing, advanced robotics, which replaces the human power being enhanced industrial efficiency. The digital stride of era to the creation of the metaverse, as it aims to bring forward the communication and as a mean to know and interact with the entire universe around us, are just a few examples of the outcome of Industrial Revolution 4.0.  

With increased efficiency, there will be more products or goods ready for sale in a relatively short time compared to conventional production techniques with human resources. Despite this, production growth is not always directly proportional to rising demand. Industrial participants constantly need new consumers and new markets to buy their products, and companies will ultimately gain more revenue. Commercial competition anywhere is a common case, however, and that is entirely normal. It turns out that this is not normal because they involve in the company monopoly the forcible purge of rivals.

The intent to remove Russia (and China) from the international trade arena has indeed been seen for a long time. We can see it from the unilateral increase in tariffs that the United States has imposed on China in 2019, or the US effort to use CAATSA to scare various countries that want to buy Russian-made military products. When various Russian products disappear from the market, the ones that replace them are most likely business competitors with monopoly tendencies to increase revenues.

"But capitalism doesn't just stay in its youth, it grows, gets bigger, increases, and ages... Capitalism is no longer in the "Aufstieg (Rise)" era, but "Niedergang (down)" instead... Now the weak have been swept away from the earth's surface, or have merged into a great alliance with one another; the great one. Now even the greatest associations have ended their struggle with the others; now only monopool (monopoly) bodies are facing each other. Vrij concurentie (free competition) is over, it’s no longer needed. What is necessary is to keep the monopool giants upright. Therefore, liberalism and parlementaire democratie (parliamentary democracy) were then “out of business”… Liberalism was thrown away, condemned as an old-fashioned system that no longer worked … and a new system was born that was compatible with keeping the monopool upright. A new system which is of course monopool … this is the fascism system!” (Quoted from "Under the Flag of the Revolution" by Ir. Soekarno, 1959).

Where to Find The Lost Pride?

Somebody said that a rejection or a failed goal is a hidden blessing because it will move us to improve ourselves to be worthy enough to reach our goals. However, it’s not that easy to give this life-changing advice to people who have just lost their homes due to a disaster, have been laid-off, or have lost a family member. There’s a common tinge of sadness behind it all, and it takes a while to see such misfortune as a blessing in disguise.

Where were you by the end of December 1991? Around that year there was only one government TV channel called TVRI in my city. There was no internet, let alone cellphones, so practically that single channel was the only home-entertainment during holiday season for all house-sitting kids of the 90s. It was December 26th. A piece of news aired that night still lingers on my mind to this day. The lowering flag of the Soviet Union. Inside the mind of a 13-year-old teenager thought the event was merely ceremonial, just like Monday’s flag ceremony held by all schools in Indonesia pre-pandemic era. What makes these ceremonies different is the Soviet Union’s red flag of hammer and sickle has never been hoisted again at any international events since then.  

About 30 years later I realized that losing something that was once our pride is not something painless. Are there hidden blessings behind December 25, 1991 event, of which Indonesians like me watched it on television on December 26, 1991, due to time difference (it was broadcasted by ABC, an American television network)? What was exactly overwhelming emotion in our hearts as we see the flag we proud of as the national identity declared worthless, regardless of who said that in the first place? Even though you and I lived outside the Soviet Union (at that time) as only spectators, don't we realize that situations with more or less the same ambient have been and are right after our eyes at the moment?

 

Freedom from want

Democracy is highly appreciated in many countries for the great deal of advantages it brings. Franklin D. Roosevelt outlined the main features of democracy in his January 6, 1941 speech on the Four Freedoms, where freedom from want was one of freedoms. Since the synonym of “want” is “desire”, thus, we can say that the literal meaning of “freedom of want” is “freedom from desire.”

Of all the types of freedom indicated as the Four Freedoms, freedom from want is the main reason that inspires people. The entire humans want something in their life; happiness, prosperity, success, you name it. Thanks to digital technology advancement, it's easier for people to get whatever they want with the help of online marketplaces. Even a spouse can be searched through dating sites like Tinder. That is the miracle of democracy, as the freedom that accompanies it opens the path for humans to create and develop ideas to achieve, as Mr. Roosevelt proclaimed, healthy peacetime life.

Human desires are developing with the passage of time. It's like drinking vodka, the more you drink, the drier the throat. Some people are no longer happy enough with delicious food in the dinner table at home. The standard of decent living has also changed, as more and more people feel quite happy living with a partner childlessly, or exploring the world alone. Meanwhile, people on the other side of planet are still struggling to define the meaning of happiness and choose various options on the table as the result of freedom. In the United States, the “Great Resignation” movement arose out of employees who claim they could not find happiness from their jobs. Maybe because their life feels empty, and such loneliness doesn’t end with countless zeros on their salaries.

The nightlife phenomenon, drugs, and everything that 'ill-lit' makes religious people blame the absence of religiosity within contemporary human life as the root of some people's inability to see light at the end of the tunnel; such accusation also plays its role inside religious radicalism in many places. Let’s not forget that for some, religiosity also involves efforts to gain freedom from want, as they decide religion is a liberation from worldly desires that curbing the well-being of one's mind and soul.

Nevertheless, it is freedom from want that motivates people to compete, to collect profit as much as they can because their life needs are imminent and a lot of money required to fulfill them. Unequal economic prosperity makes some groups of people feel insecure about living their lives and looking for loopholes to secure their future. Those who are lucky enough to get access to infrastructure and relations to support their goals will emerge as winners in the midst of free market competition. Thanks to democracy which frees people to perform their best for a better life.

In democracy realm, governments reduce their role as match referees, but will continue to act decisively if their leverage is abused. Information technology and the internet of things are developed to a great extent, not only to support freedom of business, but also to facilitate controlling citizens' freedom. They are led to seek pride in the areas that have been set on, areas that will benefit the authorities as well as capitalists.

 

Where is The Pride?

When we lose our house, vehicle, money due to a disaster or it is stolen, we can always get a better one someday. What if we lose our pride, where should we search for a new one? Pride is invisible, then how can it be lost? Although a hidden blessing was only discovered later after its fall, the vanishing of USSR from the world map left a lasting memory on the mind of the citizens who were once a part of it. There are those who insist that the Soviet Union still exists, while poll results in March 2021 show 58% of Russians regret its collapse. The United States and its allies may see the event as their victory, but they do not realize that millions of humans including their own citizens and perhaps some of us are feeling what the citizens of the Soviet Union were and are now.

Those with different economic, cultural, social, religious, belief, gender, and age backgrounds may feel the same dismay, as someone decides that something they are proud of is worthless. They may be one of the adherents of an ancestral belief that is considered heretical by more modern belief groups. Or an immigrants' descendant who was born and raised in a country that is not belong to his/her parents, tried to fight for the equal rights for years but crushed by the statement of "America For The Americans." Or the native tribes who were expelled from their ancestral lands after the arrival of other nations who believed themselves more civilized and intelligent. They lost their pride in their inherited identity of family, community, nation, due to pressure from various outside parties who are also proud of their identity and long for recognition.

In short, our current and respected identity should only occupy 10% of the pride on your chest. Yes, all of identity entries that are and not printed on your ID card , such as race or ethnicitys, the political party of your choice, or what major you chose during college. Anything that makes us feel proud to own it and or been a part of it during a certain point in our life. No matter how safe our world is today, there are still those who want to strip us of our pride through narratives about efforts to purify origins, religions, and beliefs as the “correct” ways to find identity. We should remember that pride is not a gift, nor a goal. Pride is an impact that we receive as a consequence of meaningful things that we do or have done. Then, what if we have never done such a thing yet, do we still deserve the pride? As Fyodor Dostoevsky put it, “the darker the night, the brighter the stars.”