2023 Reflection: Democracy and Communism are The Losers

Many lamented the "restoration" of Turkey's historic Hagia Sophia, which was converted from a museum to a mosque in 2020. UNESCO was among them.

On the other hand, an Indonesian news site saw that Turkish President Recep Erdogan permission for non-Muslims to visit the Hagia Sophia mosque was "remarkable", since the founder, Emperor Constantin I, ordered its construction as an Orthodox Christian cathedral in 360 AD.

Four minarets were added to each corner of Hagia Sophia in 1453, marking the conversion of the Byzantine Empire's landmark into a mosque following its defeat by the Ottoman Dynasty of Turkiye.

Historians claimed that as Sultan Mehmed Fatih entered Hagia Sophia church, he felt like the eyes of the infant Jesus on the building's mosaic were following his every moves inside the building.

The Turkiye's founding father, Mustafa Kemal Attaturk, made the decision to convert the Hagia Sophia into a museum in 1934 in an attempt to reach a compromise over the historical issue surrounding the structure, whose name translates to "Sacred Wisdom" in Greek.

According to President Erdogan, Attaturk's decision was incorrect as it betrayed historical precedent and looted the Umayyad Dynasty's properties.

To set the record straight, a pagan temple served as the foundation for the early construction of the Hagia Sophia cathedral, as ordered by its founder, Constantine I.

Capitalism leads to religious shock

According to the 2005 article Capitalism and Human Nature, human thought patterns have remained mostly same since the Stone Age: people have always tempted to search for more since that's their significance of life.

Hence, people are capitalists since birth, aren't they? While the cavemen of the past hunted to seek something to eat, the wolves of Wall Street are the hunters of today, searching for gains on the trading floor.

This article suggests that the human mind functions similarly to a Swiss Army knife, as it can generate numerous answers for each given situation. Humans are social animals at heart, and they naturally seek to connect with the outside world by avoiding situations that could incite bias.

That’s the ideal.

What pushed the Turkish government to disregard the historical context of Hagia Sophia and decline to allow it to once again serve as an Orthodox Christian church—let alone a pagan temple?

The current Hagia Sophia's status, in my opinion, does not create a feeling of pleasant among the Orthodox Christian community, although they are allowed to visit it.

Such discomfort caused by the behavior of a group of people outside them with psychological condition that is geared to deal with life in a small community (micro-cosmos) experienced cultural shock (or religious shock in this case) as they interacted in a broader socialization (macro-cosmos).

If only all people are willing to admit that individual freedom is meaningless if it infringes upon the freedom of others, capitalism would have managed to avoid similar incident from happening on the course of international intercommunication.

Peaceful coexistence

All countries are basically yearning for a peaceful coexistence, even the Soviet Union (succeeded by the Russian Federation) and the People's Republic of China (PRC) held differing opinions about this idea.

Nikita Khrushchev's peaceful coexistence was the Soviet Union's foreign policy built upon on an optimism that socialism would triumph over capitalism and maintained positive relations with other parties, especially the capitalist United States, in order to avert war. 

Khrushchev advocated this idea as to revert the measures enforced by his predecessors, Josef Stalin and Vladimir Lenin, which were thought to have damaged the Soviet Union's reputation, as the results of Soviet's annexation of numerous regions, 

Meanwhile, the People's Republic of China highlighted its commitment to peaceful coexistence in international affairs by the declaration of Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence in December 1953. These principles were subsequently incorporated into the terms of the peace accord that the PRC and India reached following the Sino-Indian war in Tibet.

The Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence also served as the model text for the Asia-Africa Conference's 1955 proclamation, thanks to the presence of its founder, Zhou Enlai, who was also the PRC's prime minister at the time.

Mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity (the government is free from outside influence), non-aggression, mutually beneficial cooperation, equality, and non-interference in each other's domestic affairs were among the contents of the PRC-style Principles of Peaceful Living.

When humans intelligence could build and change the function of a building like the Hagia Sophia to fulfill their goals, why is the similar compatibility not put in place to renovate the idea of socialism's peaceful coexistence and freedom of capitalism in order to build a better future?

"I'm Free, You're Free" — How Could It Be Possible?

Indeed, how could it be possible to achieve, or is it just a fantasy? Many people, including international communities, expressed their deep concern regarding offering desecration incident that happened in East Java a while ago, citing the action as a breach of religious freedom.

Offerings do not solely belong to Hinduism but also practiced by "old religions" and native beliefs followers who believe in God Almighty all over the world.

For a variety of reasons, most people regard them as heretics, infidels, idolaters, etc., despite the fact that such religious genre typically seeks to elevate human awareness on how to live harmoniously with the natural world.

Nevertheless, such negative accusation is reasonable, given that the accusers are followers of specific religions that gauge such religious phenomenon according to their respective religiosity standards.

We know it's diversity when something is deemed false in one sphere while another has no problem with it.  

Understanding liberty

The debate around libertarianism was resurrected when an economist and self-proclaimed anarcho-capitalist Javier Milei won the Argentina's presidency..

Following his triumph, Milei faced reproval from all sides since his dollarization plan was seen as at odds with the multipolarism trend that several nations, particularly China, were accelerating.

Milei claims that the Argentinian Marxist government restricted people's liberty and spent excessive amounts of money. In an attempt to raise people's standard of living, the state ought to take a less active role in governing the people, delegates market processes to the private sectors, and grants citizens more spacious room to move.

Keep in mind that libertarianism, which derived from the word liberty, slightly differs from freedom. Liberty is an individual's perspective on life that is shaped by their moral attributes, whereas freedom tends to grant more discretion thanks to outside factors.

In order to build a thriving social existence that provides both material and emotional fulfillment, self-sufficiency takes into account to the degree which our acts of freedom do not infringe upon the freedom of others.

While it is so easy to demand freedom for ourselves, would it also apply the same when it comes to demanding freedom for others? The video above most likely has the answer to this query.

Humans are capable of distinguishing between right and wrong and drawing lines dividing them because of diverse moral precepts. The governments and or authorities are the ones in charge of keeping an eye on things and stepping in when people disobey these rules.

This concept does not necessitate protracted chaos, although anarchism tends to oppose excessive authority's intervention in people's lives. Conversely, anarchists seek to lessen authority's workload by encouraging a self-governing mindset that goes beyond simply demanding independence.

That's the theory.

High-priced freedom 

Two years of consecutive conflicts nowadays can be directly attributed to the lack of freedom during the previous two years of COVID-19 outbreak. Following the SARS-CoV-2 virus's retreat, frustration due to lockdown protocols, mandatory vaccination and keeping distance led to uncontrollable outbursts.

As presented by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) summit on December 1, 2023, in North Macedonia, majority of European leaders still seem to be deeply affected by this setback.

Russia's invitation to the meeting had raised hopes that peace over the Ukraine conflict was near.

As far as we concerned, a number of significant forum participants' views about Russia remain unchanged. To them, Russia remains an accused party deserving of the harshest punishment imaginable, with no chance of legal recourse.

The conflict between Israel and the Palestinians demonstrates this similar tendency. Despite the necessity of abiding by the Journalistic Code of Ethics, it appears that no media outlet can reverse the unfavorable attention that is being placed on Israel.

A number of incidents over the past two years demonstrate just how costly freedom is. Every human is free to follow their own aspirations, yet they are all bound by the idealism that exists in their hearts and minds about being right. 

The boundaries between the mindsets of different classes of people are raised so high in order to prevent the ideals that a group defends from being tainted. It appears that a better future is nothing but a pipe dream.

How Complex Past Ruins Your Right to Live Well: History of Machpela Cave

Machpela Cave has two other names, and you may pick one of them depending on which religion you believe in. For Christian Orthodox, Christian, and Catholic communities, it is called Cave of The Patriarchs, while it's Me'arat HaMachpela for the Jews. Muslims name it Ibrahimi Mosque. 

In this article I use "Machpela Cave" to refer Cave of The Patriarchs, following how Wikipedia localizes its name for Indonesian audience (it is Gua Makhpela in Indonesian). 

Cave of The Patriarchs is listed as one of tourist destinations and part of West Bank Tour for tourists around the world. Based on visitor reviews in Tripadvisors, you will be asked whether you are a Muslim, Jew, or Christian when you visit this site, as this will determine how far you can have a sightseeing here. 

That's right. Machpela Cave is divided into Jewish and Muslim parts, and there are two entries for each religious believers which is also controlled by the respective communities. 

As for non-Muslim and non-Jewish groups, they can only see the outer part of it. Previously, Christians could enter the site from all gates, but a visitor on Tripadvisors said the rule has changed, and whether there is a new measure regarding the current development remains unknown. 

"In ancestral grave we fight"

And they did and do it, literally. A while ago, people talked about a mass shooting in Cave of Patriarchs and the event that followed during 1994. Truth is, that was not the first atrocity in the sacred site for three religions. 

Cave of The Patriarchs is a small cave where the early biblical Patriarchs (Adam, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) and their spouses laid to rest. It used to be a simple memorial until King Herod decided to build wall around the burial site. 

Aerial view of Machpela Cave, source: YouTube/AllAboutJerusalem

There were churches and mosques that built around the holy grave and destroyed by the ones who managed to conquer Jerusalem pre and during Crusade Wars, while the Jews were completely banned from entering the holy grave for a while.  

At the time of the writing, there are separated entrances for the Jews and Muslims, respectively, where the Jews can only enter the site from the southwestern side, while Muslims are allowed to come in form the northwestern site after passing through a mosque in the entrance. 

Both religious groups are not allowed to go through in each other's side, which means Jews cannot enter the Muslims side, and vice versa. 

Since Abraham's and Sarah's cenotaphs are in the southwestern side (while Jacob's and Leah's are in the northwestern side), the Jews cannot pay respect to their ancestors in a near distance (let alone the Christians), except during special days in Jewish religion.  

Why is this matter? It's because Abraham is the first of the Hebrew patriarchs, and among the holy figures in Christianity and Islam. 

Searching for the light

I was born as a Muslim from Muslim parents, and received my first education in a Protestant Christian kindergarten and a Catholic elementary school. Back in the day, it was no big deal for Muslims in my city to get their education in Protestant or Catholic schools. 

Yes, I recited Protestant and Catholic prayers, I entered and sat in their respective churches during schools' events in early years of my life, and still a Muslim today. 

Religions are regarded and seen as equal by the Indonesian laws and ideology, even though some people are worried that this harmony is starting to get eroded these days as some several small groups of religious people believe God will punish them for not doing their belief correctly, as they engage too close with people from different religions. 

From the Cave of Patriarchs saga we can make a conclusion that Judaism is the first religion founded in the region (Palestine-Israel), followed by Christianity, and later Islam. An understanding and recognition of this biblical fact might have played some roles in shaping public opinion on the conflict, too. 

Continuous conflicts also stipulate in forming our perspectives about others; our emotional experience contributes in the process of justifying the way we think about something rather than the actual circumstances about it. A behavior which leads us to prejudice, and worst, hate that obstruct us to feel and figure out how to maintain peace. 

In the past, religion was side by side with political system as a mean to rule society and to guarantee harmonious and regulated daily living among people. Those who cannot stand in dealing with too much freedom will opt religion as a mean to get people complied and creating stability, which are the supposedly direct results of practicing any religion wholeheartedly. 

Finally, it's never too late to ask ourselves whether religious values are still worth, not just for the sake of safety and security, but also saneness of ordinary living individuals which is essential to build a better future for today's and next generations. 

How To Safely Care About Others

Whether we are prepared or not, unexpected tragedies like natural disasters, wars, and other tragic events happen at any time. We feel sad for the victims' suffering as media constantly show the anguish and misery they endure.

Our common response is usually trying the best to help by thinking of solutions, or criticizing the people who are responsible for the victims' pain (for instance, in wars and mass riots).

Typically, when someone is going through a terrible time in life—whether it's because of financial hardship, interpersonal conflicts, heartbreak, losing a job, having a lot of debt, etc.—they look for "medicine" to make them feel better. Sometimes, that "medicine" is expressing empathy to others who are less fortunate than themselves.

As social animals who live among society, it’s absolutely fine to feel compassionate for the pain of others. However, to be able to pass on the good you do to someone else, empathy should be spontaneous and genuine: i.e not expecting something in return, nor aiming to "cure" our own pain.

Furthermore, we don't have to lose empathy if the person we are trying to help turns out to be merely using our kindness for their own benefit, as the person you are donating to still holds out hope that your giving will help them get out of the sticky predicament they are in.

So, does this mean we have to stop empathizing others’ pain? Not really. Just consider the following points below before you decide to help someone:

See the situation as it is

There are layers of stories about why someone could fall and demand assistance from others to get up. Such stories can be quite shocking when we never have to deal with them in life. Anything can happen in this world, just like the day that shifts into night.

Make sure that your imaginations don't wandering around, speculate, or exaggerate everything you see or hear. Develop a habit to keep focusing on what's in front of you rather than what's going through your head.

Illustration source: Pixabay/kiquebg

Delay the reaction

Refrain from responding hastily in every thing and every circumstances. Give yourself time to examine what’s happening in front of you. We have the right to be skeptical, and don't allow anyone to take that from us.

People are in fear of missing out. But, what's even more terrifying is responding incorrectly to something. Do you remember the wave of sanctions that imposed on Russia for invading Ukraine? The inception of it all began with the wave of anger responses from netizens.

Review information from all point of views

Through the mainstream media, we are able to learn about events happening in distant regions of the globe. It is crucial to keep in mind that the mass media does not always report news objectively; among other things, their own political opinions are taken into consideration. Moreover, news produced by the media reflects the viewpoints of the organizations that finance the cause.

We must process information from multiple angles about a depressing occurrence (like a conflict) in order to decide how to feel about it. The thing is that media outlets that do not align with national objectives will marginalized, which makes it challenging for the public to obtain accurate and impartial information.

Do what we can

People’s suffering triggers our sympathy, at some extent, one may feel an extreme sadness because of it. It makes sense when we would want to assist those going through difficulties because, in our hearts, we would also wish to get some help whenever we deal with the same circumstance.

Since there are always going to be risks or consequences associated with the decisions we make, the assistance we give shouldn't make things harder for us later on. Self-control become your compass to gauge how much or how far you can help others in need.

Let go

Forget what you have done to help someone, just like giving a small money to a beggar. Regardless the size of the things you relinquish to become someone else's property, forgetting the good deeds you have done is a way to let go.

Ultimately, we need to get back to our personal lives and responsibilities. Daily routine can be challenging as life's challenges are never the same. We still need to steer our ship with our energy and heart strength to ensure that it doesn't sink in amid all life’s ups and downs. How will you going through this life when you have given your everything to others and nothing left?  

весна (Spring) - Dolphin (video)

 

5 Ways to Keep Being Happy When You Have Debts

For various reasons, we owe money to someone, whether it's a bank, an online loan, or any other party as a lender. If your psychological situation is unstable, debt can further worsen your personal financial situation as a result of the recent deteriorating global economic situation.

Back to the COVID-19 pandemic days, the SARS-CoV-2 virus tended to become rampant as it entered a patient's body that also suffered other diseases (comorbid). Thus, non-comorbid patients who had psychological depression as a result of isolation, for instance, did not survive and passed away immediately as soon as they caught COVID-19.

This also applies to your financial situation. Paradoxically, we attempt "mental suicide" on ourselves as we feel negative emotions and feelings that come with debt. People say a promise is a debt, yet a promise cannot pay off your debt. The same goes for anxiety, disappointment, embarrassment, and other negative feelings; none of these things can help you settle your debt.

Remember! Keep being clearheaded is your main armor to clear your debt, which is attainable by cultivating a sense of happiness in your mind. Here’s how to do it:

Discipline

The secret to success is discipline, which will also help you get through challenging episodes as well in your career. In any case, do not put aside any debt due date as doing so will only make it more difficult for you to pay it off later on.

It wouldn’t be a problem if you’re disciplined person in your daily life, wherever you are. A habit of waking up, sleeping, eating, working, etc. at the same times every day will largely contribute to form our sense of responsibility and, eventually, loosen the disorganization of life.

Forgive

We may worry about unpaid debts on a daily basis if we are unhappy about having our income reduced to pay them. This is an incorrect mentality. Let’s admit that every choice has its own consequence and borrowing money is not an exception.

By frequently practicing forgiveness to others and to yourself, regardless of how big or small the mistakes, you can get over this uneasy feeling. There should be no "resistance" to not paying the due debts, neither the principal loan nor the loan interest, when you find it’s not that hard to take and give forgiveness.

Gratitude

While it doesn't take much of your time during the day, we often forget to express gratitude. We tend to neglect those around us, including family members, co-workers, neighbors, and a bunch of other unknown individuals, since we are busy worrying about our own situation. You’ll never walk alone, bro, sis. You're not the only one in this world who have problems.

Expressing gratitude is an effortless approach for us as ordinary humans to appreciate the presence of others. Be grateful to nature for the nice weather or the clean air. Also, don’t forget to thank yourself for willing to wake up early and work hard every day.

Mind your appearance

We shouldn't stop cherishing ourselves just because we have to deal with something that hasn't been resolved. Even if you don't feel like dressing marvelously every day, keep your personal hygiene up to par and don’t wear worn-out, damaged, or dull colored clothing when attending crucial events.

Debt collectors may (and will) speak to you in a rude, demeaning manner that injuring your self-esteem. We shall accept this since, just like you and all of us, they’re only doing their job. They will do whatever it takes to accomplish their targets. Nevertheless, don’t let such short "torment" convince you that you don’t deserve respect.

Be mindful

Neither your big and small debts define you, therefore, you don’t have to think about them all the time. In many regions of the world, economic hardships are the primary factor contributing to depression. Yet, our protests or rage won't make our debts wiped-out completely.

Your main source to pay off all debts is not a well-paying career, nor free money falls from the sky. Money does not buy happiness. You're the only one to be in charge to pay off all of your debts. Always take care of yourself by practicing mindfulness and nurturing your happiness, no matter how difficult the circumstances.

It's Us or Them: When Religion Does Not Unite

In a survey on religiosity, it was concluded that Indonesia is a country with 96% of the population believes in God, which makes it the most religious country in the world. Such finding seen as not so surprising for some people, since in their real life, religious values are just a part of routines in daily life. Thus, this implies that being a religious person in Indonesia does not mean you won't be tempted to do corruption (for example).

During Suharto's era (1968-1998), friction among different religious communities never happened thanks to the strict regulations governing this sensitive area. Suharto's policy aimed to treat all religions the same, and even tended to suppress 'freedom of worship' (as said by numerous of individuals), in order to prevent the rising of domination by one group. The same policy was also implemented by Lee Kuan Yew, one of the most respected Southeast Asian leaders to date.

Due to the political turmoil around him, the points that Suharto highlighted were abandoned by his successors, except for the 4th President of Indonesia, Abdurrahman Wahid, who had a very short term in office. After several changes in leadership, there is one important question that is increasingly haunting the life of the most religious nation in the world. Which is more mandatory to obey, religious regulations, or state regulations?

War and religion

Answer to the question above will be straightforward when a country holds religious values as its ideology, such as Iran and Saudi Arabia. For the Muslims faction, Crusade Wars that lasted for two centuries (15th-17th century) were the outcome of yearning to uphold religious law, which was also one of the atrocities' main causes. As for the Catholics and Christians side, the main motivation to fight in such religious battlefield was seeking God's forgiveness and repentance.

Talking about this event may bring back old wounds that we prefer to forget, nevertheless, this war still haunts us today. As the winner of the war, the Ottoman Empire seized Byzantium territory, which had previously been the center of Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Turkish leaders and their successors provided protection to Christians and Jews in the region under separate rules.

Such rather peaceful coexistence altered by a devastating war known as the Great Turkish War. First, the Ottomans were defeated by the Holy League (Holy Roman Empire, Poland-Lithuania, Hungary, Russian Empire, Venice). Second, Ottoman involvement in the war began because it signed an agreement with an Orthodox Christian Kazaki (Cossack) leader, Petro Dorosenko, as his effort to defend his homeland from Polish attacks.

How did it feel to losing a battle? The Ottoman Empire changed its attitude towards the non-Muslims it used to protect on the words that were given for this question. It is widely believed that Ottoman defeat by the Holy League led to the growth of Turkish nationalism, which prompted the emergence of anti-non-Muslim and anti-foreigner sentiment.

Armenian Orthodox Christians were the among first victims of ultranationalist movement in post-war Turkey, although historians still debating the course of events details and the number of victims. During World War II, Serbian Orthodox Christians faced the worst tragedy pre-modern Balkan War, which is rarely discussed, probably because the tragic reasons behind it were secretly regretted by some circles. In the 21st century, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church was disbanded by the Ukrainian government as it refused to merge with the OCU (Orthodox Church of Ukraine), following the closure of its renowned monastery.

What should we do?

Religiosity has a significance in shaping people's perceptions of their own lives and their surroundings, without neglecting other various factors that also play a big role in this matter. Each of major religions in the world today was formed and exists thanks to a centuries-long process that shaped each religion's own perspective on many other things outside themselves.

As religious leaders and propagators inject this perception into their teachings and transmit their messages to people in other places, it should be take into account as a normality if a religious vision does not synchronize with the cultural norms where we live in. However, attacking them frontally is also not an option since such action would imply we take what they are doing seriously.

The situation of many nations on Earth is unique to each other, but such uniqueness is currently being threatened under the discourse of “sustainable development of modernity”. To deal with such situation,  we need educative teachings that are able to encourage us to practice self-awareness and to focus on our inner well-being not to easily impressed by the realities of life. That's what we should do before deciding to "heal" the world.

5 Tips to Dealing With Economic Difficulties

Economic hardship is not an embarrassing matter as it can happen to anyone anywhere, from a single mom in a rural area to a businessman in a big city. There’s no single nor a set of guaranteed solutions to solve such problems, as economic difficulties are the result of various factors lingering, pulling and pushing, and impacting each other.

All the printed, online, electronic media have explained over and over the real causes behind the current global economic downturn, so I will not talk about them here. If you have this problem at the moment, no worries, you’re not alone.

Here are five things you can do.

1. “Your problem is not you.”

Indeed, your problem and you are two different entities. Perhaps you’re a young man, a father, a mother, or a senior with names and everything that can be used to identify your existence as a human.

On the other hand, despite it having a name, your problem is not a living creature. Instead, it is a situation or a set of situations that make your mental and mind heavy. So, why on Earth do we have to surrender to an inanimate object? 

 

2. Cleaning

Do you remember when we had to stay at home for days and months during the pandemic? We kept ourselves busy with various activities that could be done at home, such as cleaning our home and its surroundings.

No matter how hard the economic situation we need to deal with, never sacrifice your own and your family comfort. Bed, bathroom, kitchen, home office, children’s room need to look tidy and nice to avoid additional burden to your already stressed mind.

 

3. Take care yourself

We have heard so many times about people who starved themselves to spare more food at home. This is somewhat wrong, since starving yourself means self-harm. The body needs food to fetch energy required to perform activities and to think clearly from time to time. Breakfast is important, skip dinner is an option if you want to go frugal and reducing body weight all at once.

Keeping self-hygiene is also important. Taking a bath, brushing your teeth, washing your hair, shaving, and so on are crucial as we honor our body that has been working tirelessly and never stop thinking long and hard to figure out the solutions to our economic problems.

 

4. Exercise 

People tend to be lazy to do exercise as they think it is useless; no money for the bills or food comes from doing it. In fact, our weary mind and heart need to be funneled into physical activities, since negative energy which causes stress and depression can be thinned with regular exercise.

You won’t need to push yourself into weight training when your physical condition does not allow you to do so; some regular morning walks around your home would be enough. As the old saying goes: mens sana in corpore sano; there’s a healthy soul inside a healthy body.

 

5. Meditation

Meditation is applicable to everyone, regardless of their religion and belief, when they are able to perceive it as a universal practice across humanity in general. Meditation is a certain activity where we tell our brain to take a break from thinking, muting negative voices inside our mind which are apt to lead us to further distress amid any complexity.

A neuroscientist acknowledges the benefit of meditation when it comes to helping humans to rejuvenate their declining brain performance due to thinking all the time. Just like a gadget that requires a turn off once a while, the human’s brain will be fresh after taking a break for a while with meditation.

 

The economic hardship scale of severity, type, and range are varied for everyone, since each persons are unique. There is no single cure that will heal all of these hindrances instantly.

The explication above is breaking down a few simple ways for you to make same space between yourself as a person and your current problem or situation.

Your economic difficulties will not be solved as you finish your meditation or yoga session. Nevertheless, your body, mind, and soul will feel sound and bright so you can see a way out that you have been searching for all this time. 

Why China must restrain itself from enforcing its South China Sea claim

By asserting its presence in what it considers its territorial waters, Beijing plays into Washington’s hands

By Timur Fomenko, a political analyst

Late last week, the Chinese Coast Guard deployed water cannon against Philippines ships on a military resupply run in the South China Sea. The Philippines described this incident, which took place over disputed waters, as “illegal and dangerous.”

Beijing, citing historical precedent, claims the entirety of the South China Sea as its own territory, creating an overlapping series of claims against a number of Southeast Asian states. The US has subsequently used this issue as a primary aspect of the military dynamic of its China containment strategy.

Although it is easy to blame China as the aggressor given the scale of its claim on the South China Sea, and the fact that it is the biggest actor, one should not discount the possibility of states such as the Philippines deliberately creating such incidents as a way of ramping up tensions in a nod to the US. First of all, territorial disputes in Asia are sporadic, and happen on all sides. This is because the Asian geopolitical landscape following World War II was not subject to an all-encompassing resolution like Western Europe was. Rather, the interests of US hegemony in transforming Japan into a vassal state, and the subsequent rise of communism in China, meant that there was no reconciliation to be had. Old disputes and grievances remained.

As a result, bodies such as the South China Sea and the East China Sea remain hotly contested. But the existence of these disputes alone does not necessarily mean tensions are always present. An issue can fade away into the background, but can also be ramped up by politicians who wish to prioritize it and place it in public consciousness again. There are many examples of this, such as South Korea’s dispute of the Dokdo (Takeshima) islands with Japan. Consider that the pro-US government of Yoon Suk-yeol barely ever mentions it, but the more liberal administration of Moon Jae-in did a lot. The same rule applies to islands in the South China Sea, as well as the Taiwan question, the Diaoyu/Senkaku dispute, and so on.

Currently, the Philippines is on a pro-US trajectory again. Following the rule of Rodrigo Duterte, who was more geopolitically ambivalent, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has tilted back to Washington and signed an agreement to expand the US military presence in his country by granting it three additional bases. While Duterte sought peace and reconciliation with China, the new administration seeks to stage incidents in order to provoke Beijing and trigger a reaction, militarizing the disputed territory and therefore forcing China’s hand to ‘defend’ it. Increasing tensions this way plays to Washington’s narrative.

This makes it very easy for the US to take advantage of the situation, drive a wedge in and disrupt the building of peaceful relations between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries. With the West becoming more hostile, these neighbors have become more integral to China’s own trade and economic future. Washington is determined to disrupt that where possible in the name of its Indo-Pacific strategy and subsequently impose its own hegemony over them. It will do that not through trade, but by creating tensions and then billing itself as a security provider. This is easier to do when states such as the Philippines are enabling it. This means that Beijing ultimately has to be tactful in its diplomacy, and exert restraint constantly, otherwise, more and more foreign naval assets will be appearing in the region.

*This article was initially published on RT.com.

The Illusion of Perfection

Perfection is wonderful, and excellence stands out among crowds. To feel confident of having perfection is what the majority of people need to feel proud and be satisfied with their lives, as to keep away from becoming a subject of travesty, either by perfection that comes from the fruits of their hard work, or received as a heritage.

Those who succeed in claiming perfection through the rise and fall of their endeavor will likely hold “the achievement” dear not to let it go so easily, as keeping something is more difficult than achieving it.

As Ukraine War broke on February 24th, 2022, countries reluctant to pick any side expressed their stance as neutral states, some of them showed goodwill to mediate between both sides, whether it was because the Eastern European conflict has pissed them off, or just because they wanted to be mediators. From the point of view of several cultural norms and religious values, such an attitude should be put forward as we are caught in the middle of an enmity. Among this neutral group was Türkiye.

In addition to its initiative to voluntary mediate Russia and Ukraine, as of June 2022 Türkiye agreed to facilitate Ukrainian and Russian grains export which should have been delivered to countries in need.

Türkiye also agreed to place five Ukrainian prisoners of war from the Azov Battalion under its authority through a formal Turkish-Russian intergovernmental agreement, following their defeat by Russian troops in the long battle of Azovstal steel factory last year.

It was unclear why Türkiye changed its attitude all of a sudden. President Recep Erdogan personally invited Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky to visit his country and bring home five prisoners of war who, according to its agreement with Russia, should not breathe free until the end of Russia's military operations in Ukraine. The Russian side, of course, deplores Turkey's early summer 2023 breach of the deal.  

“Faith”

Faith is a willingness to believe in full confidently without doubt and resistance over something (or someone), which in turns affect one’s philosophy, personal view, attitude, daily behavior and actions. Faith is not just a reference for spiritual realm or a statement of one’s religiosity state, while as a term faith is rarely found in other areas of life.

Based on its history, faith has been recognized as a word since 13^th century which meant “faithfulness to a trust or a promise; loyalty to a person.” It was derived from an Old French word, feid “faith, belief, trust, confidence; pledge”, from Latin word fides “trust, faith, confidence, reliance, credence, belief.”

There is a dynamic in the original meaning of faith during the 14th century as it was used to define the assent of the mind to the truth of a statement for which there is incomplete evidence, especially in matters of belief in religious matters. Originally, faith was adopted for religious related reference, furthermore, in reference to religious persuasion. The meaning of faith was again expanded at the end of the same century as "confidence in a person or a thing with reference to truthfulness or reliability."

Given that the pursuit of perfection is not always good, our parents and predecessors advised us to put more focus on maintaining the quality of our personality or character through simple practices that don't shoot the sky by keeping promises, among other things.

Men and women make promises almost everyday to everyone; family, colleagues, spouse, superiors, debt collectors... The crush of life's difficulties that are getting worse due to various things encourages people to rush away from pressure by keep making promises without consciously being aware of their ability to fulfill them.

Based upon the above loosely based exposition on the origin and meaning of the word faith outside the religious context, it is not wrong to interpret that someone apostates as he breaks his own promise, wherein apostasy is an apocalypse; a pole marking the end and beginning of a phase as a result of the disclosure of a reality that elicits rejection of certain groups or circles. As the world seems like collapsing for whom we betray, at the same time it blooms cheerfully for those who benefit from such belie action.

The faithful accused

Believing in something is part of basic human rights that protected by international law, including the freedom to decide to change one's belief or shift one's faith from one entity to another. Human civilization will continue to exist as long as Earth does, and will always change itself to survive and be present.

Likewise, humans’ faith can fade and go elsewhere (hijrah) as humans feel they can no longer able to survive and exist due to holding on to their old beliefs. This move was made under the impulse of such a belief that had arisen after accepting the persuasion that the new place was better.

Based on one of the Ukrainian War scenes above, Türkiye believes it did the right thing by releasing five Ukrainian prisoners of war so they can return to defend their country. In order to act on the path of truth, Türkiye betrayed the trust of its best friend, Russia, and sacrificed decades of good relations. Being advised by the core values of various major religions, upholding the truth does not always have a sweet effect on all parties -- there will always be those who feel let down because of such action.

Aware of not being a "good egg", one will tend to divert the pain to other things that assumed able to relieve it. Probably he will become a devoted believer or get involved in charity activities of burning millions of dollars to atone for his "sins". Will all of these move God to forgive us? We never know, unless we leave this world and have the chance return home to tell the stories of afterlife.

As such, striving for perfection is a futile endeavor since nothing is perfect in this world. It takes a lot of both physical and mental hard work to accept without resistance the reality, while keep doing what’s best at our respective fields.

Сансара (Samsara) - Basta and Friends (video)

 

Some of us dream and strive for change, but things somehow stay the same. It takes a willingness to feel OK about it, just like those of ancient ruins in different countries that stay the same despite changes around them. 

We visualized this idea with an alternative visualization of Сансара (Samsara) by Basta, which is published on my older son's YouTube channel.

Siti Jenar Cypher Drive - Homicide (video)

A video from my older son's channel about history and anti-drugs campaign. The singer is Homicide, an Indonesian rapper from Bandung City, Indonesia. What is Siti Jenar? Who, to be exact.

The World Does Not Occur in Black and White

The Western world is decrying Third World men who marry more than one woman, as they see polygamy as a sex-maniac behavior. Muslims will consider it as an insult because Prophet Muhammad had 9 wives. They despised Prophet Muhammad’s life choice since they were unaware that he only loved 1 woman (Khadija bint Khuwaylid, his first wife) for 25 years of their marriage. He stayed away from polygamy when he was physically young and vibrant, yet, he married his second wife in his 50s, 5 years after the death of Khadijah who was 15 years older than him.

As a direct result of the Uhud War, many Arab men died on the battlefield; their spouses lost their status as wives, and their children were fatherless. Since ancient times offered no job opportunities for women, those widows could not work to earn a living for their children and to acquire appropriate livelihood.

Prophet Muhammad married one of Uhud War’s widows, Zaynab bint Khuzaymah, to alleviate her sufferings. Initially, this marriage was also meant as an example to the men around The Prophet those days to do the same: be the husband of any of these widows and let’s save humanity.

Muslim scholars concluded that Prophet Muhammad’s polygamy was not intentionally designated to avoid adultery (one of the popular arguments to justify polygamy); rather, it was meant to safeguard a widow’s dignity in society.  Unfortunately, we cannot disown a fragment of an ancient civilization that considered widows as the leftovers of somebody else and believed that they did not deserve to be married with not alone to receive a livelihood.

The ship has sailed, and now women have been seeing better days. The background of practicing polygamy has evolved with time, along with the voices reprove it. Amidst the even higher divorce cases today, staying true to your spouse is like gold. Those who believe that monogamy is best will likely get a headache as they witness some women’s lives are just fine under polygamy.

 

Vladimir Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin has successfully pulled his country out of catastrophic state to reclaim its reign as a world power again. He was named Time’s 2017 Person of The Year for such impressive achievement. At the same time, Putin was suspectedly a dangerous man and not of a decent character, wrote Time's managing editor Richard Stengel.

As Stengel put it, Putin should be cautious as he prioritized stability over civil liberties which Russia needed to get rid of the ghost of the USSR and all those dead-ends where it supposedly lived. He succeeded in doing so, though. Russia’s economy grew tremendously thanks to oil, gas, grain, and other commodities. For 20 years since his polity, Putin left the doors widely open for European and American investments, until he decided it was time to close that door. We are witnessing such a blowing decision in the form of Russian special military ops in Ukraine on February 24th, 2022, as well as thousands of sanctions that follow the attack.

Much like any world leader, Putin has gained some haters long before the first Russian missile hit Ukraine. FYI, these haters are constantly against Putin’s conservative views regarding Russian national identity and family values. Gay marriage and transgenderism are a big no, imprisonment is what you get under Russian laws, relatively similar to some Islam countries’.

Putin’s reason of protecting Russian traditional values and national identity is utterly equitable and completely understandable for almost everyone. Although he aims for a welfare state of Russia, still, numerous Russian young people declare themselves as anti-Putin, including Pussy Riot (a punk girl band from Russia). The band’s vandalism act in 2012 has resulted in two years sentence for each of its two members, of whom were released earlier on granted amnesty by December 2013.

Vladimir Putin’s indestructibility in the Western media point of view inspires hundreds of memes and satirical caricatures, a manifestation of freedom of expression that has pushed us to neglect the fact that Putin is just a human. Born into a harmonic-simple family, little Vladimir was also a naughty kid in the same way like any of us. He was lucky enough as one of his teachers in elementary school translated his naughtiness into qualities of a great leader in the future.

More or less the same as Russian men in general, Putin puts respect and admiration for a woman with the following characteristics: elegant, showing an adequate capability of protecting the family’s dignity, engaging actively in sports, being loyal to her spouse, having good manners, smart, child-loving, and capable in managing household matters skillfully. An authoritative woman or an overpowering one in a romantic relationship, as well as in a work environment, is considered frightening for Russian men. Concerning these “traditional values”, we can grasp President Putin’s opinion on the feminism movement in Russia. Regrettably, in the middle of Eastern Europe geopolitical conflict, this movement is used by Russia’s enemies to attack it from within.

 

The Grey

Any human being tends to feel uncomfortable facing anything that vague, while at the same time, the concept of God is somewhat either cryptic in itself since it only relies on the human’s own belief. Consequently, a group of folks reject such a concept and proclaim themselves atheists.

A religious nation may perceive them as lost children, while a small number of religious people respect the atheists’ life choices. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, an Indian spiritual leader and yoga guru, defined that whether somebody is good or evil, such quality does not depend on what they choose to believe (paraphrase of its original version).

The American information technology advancement has led to a narrower public personal space, as an algorithm becomes a group of people’s magic wand to control another group’s behavior without undergoing any direct interaction. Breaking into somebody’s privacy may cause a feeling of disturbed, losing freedom, ashamed, and lack of comfortableness; for the sake of the economy they ignore humanity’s right to acquire personal life not necessarily open to the public. While democracy provides extended freedom of economy for us to fetch some profits, isn’t American tech sector employees should be able to evade mass layoffs as their respective companies managed to grow fat on such freedom?

Meanwhile, information technology platforms tell us the stories of those who long to see the truth always win against the devil, the dark world people will be forever sinful; the bright side people are holier than them. As judgment day comes, only good and faithful people deserve happiness - unscrupulous and unfaithful people will suffer for the rest of their life. That those who involve in wars are the blood thirst zombies, and those who don’t are virtuous people. So, on which side is Lockheed Martin in this case?

In a disposition of support for Ukraine, the United States and its European countries-dominated alliance agreed to isolate Russia from getting financial and banking access, trade, energy, agriculture, and technology sector, to international sports competitions, films, and arts since 2022. But why do all of these unprecedented massive sanctions and blockades fail to end the Ukraine war as soon as expected - why did the mass bankruptcies and chaos that should have only occurred in Russia spread out the doom to many places worldwide?

Isn’t a fairer and prosperous world order blossoming when the devil has been severely punished, or is it?