Kamis, 15 Januari 2009

Faces Hanging on the Trees

Nowadays, Indonesian people are ready to welcome the legislative election. Next April, the election will be performed. With the background of global financial crisis, can this election bring the people’s hope of a new good life into reality? Is it suitable to hang the better future on this election?

When I was a student, my teacher explained that legislative election (“pemilu”) is a celebration of democracy. It is a time when people vote their choice to determine their representative. At that time, actually I never exactly knew what kind of celebration or what kind of party it is.

In the reformation era, there are so many parties participate to the election. Reformation had destroyed the despotic power of the state placed people’s freedom of expression in the stuffy jail for so long time. Whoever has an opinion about one thing can convey it without fear. Political participation becomes extensive. Public policies are wide open to criticism.

But reformation is also about the power. The power is not centralized again. Anyone has a power, and can use it. The reality is, the power broken into pieces and the people struggle to obtain those pieces. The exertion is indicated by the intense effort to gain the power. We can see it this time, when the election approaches.

Campaign for the election had started several months ago. Some candidates have entered into action. They fought to perform their planned strategies for raising the support from the people. Tight competition led the candidates to take whatever action they need. Today, most popular tactics to increase the support is using poster, sticker, or a kind of simple billboard. The penetration of popular technology around the country provides easy access to use this strategy. Even in the rural area, we can find traditional company with silk-screen printing or hand press technology.

As a result, now, three months before the election, in the side of the road, highway, or pathway, we can find many faces hanging on the trees. They pose with the best performance, give their best smile, dress in their best wardrobe. Moreover, sometimes, they usually also pledge their best promise.

But their smile and their promise just for the voters—not for the trees. The trees suffered from the posters. I can feel it. A report asserted that the trees in Surabaya which are nailed with the posters of Governor Candidates threatened to be died. Klub Tunas Hijau Surabaya inquired this case and concluded that the trees will be died in the next one or two years.

But the candidates have nothing to do with the trees. Their goal is only to win the election. And they can do anything for that. If we complain and ask them about this, maybe they will answer quickly: “Democracy is not cheap. There is something that must we pay for it.”

This time, maybe the trees are the martyr of our democracy. They sacrifice their future. Their life. But, is that equal with the result we reach?

In fact, I am truly infuriated at candidates of legislative who is nailing his poster to the trees. For me, this is a reflection of their indifferences to the conservation of environment. Are they, to some extent, selfish? If they show no empathy to the trees, is it possible that they will have much compassion to the poor people around this country? Is it possible that they will be the savior of democracy?

Our democracy need to be saved. But our one-earth need to be saved too. And, believe me, the trees are the hero of the earth. Our hero. We have to take care of them and assure their future, because their green future is also our future.


Related link:

2 komentar:

Anonim mengatakan...

...and the biggest power is money

Abd A'la mengatakan...

But no head hanging so far? unless those faces not elected.