Indonesia, Women and Poverty

Across the journey of time, there is some of changing situation happened in our country. With the Great Indonesia campaign in the presidential election, people hoping much about the progressive solution for any kind of concern including social disease, especially poverty. Unfortunately, it seems nothing more than a campaign slogan. A year after president elected, people far from self-sufficient. Actually the government seems have no real program for citizen empowerment. Not efficient policy such as increase of the oil price when international market announce decrease making complicated problem. Increasing of the oil price has domino effects not only the climb of transportation cost but also electricity cost. On the wide scale, it was influenced another factor like commodity price and the cost of living. Inflation is one thing we could not avoid. Un-stabile domestic economy brought our currency to one of the lowest level that ever happened before in the foreign exchange especially comparing with US Dollar.  This aspect has an extensive excess both of small, medium or big domestic industry because most of them depend their production activity from the import equipment and raw material. The government itself has not created substitution import policy such as strengthened local agricultural for the benefit of local industry. Increasing of the industry cost effects on decreased the mount of employees in the factories. The rapid growth of domestic unemployment influencing on declined the buy ability. With the lack of buy ability, domestic consumption is stagnant and just making more wave of unemployment. Unemployment just creating social disease likes poverty. And poverty grip some society in the criminality because of there is no chance to work. Like these days, begal (automotive steal with sadism) phenomenon is rapidly awake in the big cities like Tangerang, East Jakarta, Bekasi Kota and Depok. Uneven that, the robbers comes from productive ages. It means, there are rise as the huge phenomena of unemployment since the increase of oil price. On the other case, the grips of poverty have a deep impact to children future. It cut the chance to get an education. Although the government has aid to both of public or private school, is a commonly secret that school often still collect cost from the students parents such as for books, uniforms, etc. And it is really hard with a poor family. Sadly, there are some extreme cases such as suicidal because of the teacher bullying one student who have not pay the cost or a Cycle Rickshaw driver who killed three of his grandson because of his fear could not feed his family.

Unfortunately, the policymaker rise the tax for consumer and small or medium domestic industry. The tax increasing the price and it just makes domestic industry less competitive. The health care also not functions well since miss-management of BPJS (a kind of health care for all citizens). Too many covered people with lack of medicine and doctor make the service are low. In some case, they are left abandoned. A baby die because of the bad hospital treatment that ignoring patient right although they are pay for the service month by month.

With the government, party and parliament that bustling every day, it seems a little bit hard to make them sit in the same point of view to solve this complex problems related to poverty. But, we still need to advocate the poor to gain their right properly. In another way, we could join Non-Government Organization or Local Community that strive to provide solution. The most real solution is how to created chance to have a job and getting paid.

“Bank Sampah (Garbage Bank) is one of the best solution came from local citizen awareness who seeing the garbage not only as important environmental issues but also had an opportunity to get revenue for local community example in Bandung, Malang and Depok City. Our country has local garbage center in each region. But with national total production of garbage reaching up 130.000 liters per day, local garbage center only is far from enough. Needs local citizen initiative to solve their problem selves basic on what they could found on their areas. So, in the Garbage Bank System, the initiator created garbage deposit saving that exchange one kind of garbage item (usually the plastic packaging of food product with the same size and color) with money. And this is not stopping just here. Next, they are created garbage deposit as craft products such as handbag, tablecloth, et cetera with local labors, especially women to help her family against the crisis, bring to the better wealth condition and have financial autonomous. Then, they are sell the products by online or offline. With un-directly, we also keep our environment clean and more health.

So many inspirations we get from the local communities to solve poverty problems. Outside there, another community utilize local commodity (such as fruits, vegetables, leaves, et cetera) to support local industry and local continuity welfare. Writer and author have responsibility to rise up this awareness through any media such as social media, blog, website and print media. Children book story is one of the good solutions to invest social awareness to the kids in order that building up empathy to the poor people. When they are grow up, we hope they could give many contribution to solve social problem especially poverty around them. Other article such as feature, special report or another kind of writing also could drive people for doing the same or better basic on creativity, small or wider, local or global. And we need togetherness to make our dream come true to make the poverty being a history. Hope it would be come true soon!

Citizen, Leadership, Semiotics and Mass Hypnotism

2014, Indonesian Presidential General Election entered the new phase. This stage is marked by only two candidates of president and vice president who pass the selection administration; differ from 5 or 10 years before. Many people related this fact with common American Presidential General Election which only had two candidates each of their general election. As the consequence, there is sharp bout between of two candidates including campaign team, press as the mass media platform and mass base on the grass root. The sharp bout itself moving forward to PSYOP (Psychological Operations or Psychological Warfare) that attack their enemy based on their belief, likes, dislikes, strength, weakness and vulnerabilities. Social media is the biggest battle area for the grass root with the press and campaign team as warehouse ammunition of fact and data to discrediting another party. Social discord has it form, separate the friendship and family at a rate unprecedented before.

The marketing and communication expert with social scientist collaborated to transfer the idea, concept, vision and mission to attract the voters and bring their clients to be the winner. Branding is the key to bring the people together to the good perception about the candidates. The challenge is they are only had few times to bring the consistency and frequency in limited times. The expectation goal itself set to the future, when the winner elected keeps the promises to the citizen. And it is very expensive thing.

In the term of the Political Championship black campaign also handle the rule for defamatory the opponent. On the opposite, campaign team harnessed the Ratu Adil, local myth about the ideal figure of national leader that strong, justice and charismatic that bring this nation to gain the triumph. Many big local communities still believe in superstition. So that, the communication expert used the community condition to create the relation between of Ratu Adil with one of the president candidate by both of cultural background and physical appearance. The similar believe arise when media by its hyperbolic, metaphor and superlative approach related between of this candidate as a bead of Ir. Soekarno, the first leader of Indonesia since their independence.

The phenomena above explained that the news not always paralyzed and symmetric with reality. In this case, communication expert and campaign team build a perspective based on their knowledge to create false consciousness which lead the voters to choice the candidate. In the further observation, semiotics has a huge rule to digest the information. Such as Ferdinand de Saussure explain that this field study about the role of sign as part of social life. Jean Baudrillard said: there are complex relation between of sign, image and reality. Image reflection the reality, contort the reality, being the mask of them and stand outside of reality.

History never forgets about Adolf Hitler, the most successful leader who used hypnosis and persuasion technique from pacing and leading, anchoring, verbal confusion until the repetition. He delivers the message with positive and confident manner. The method is control peoples mind and turn off their rational thinking. It brought the people to the mass hypnosis until losing their individuality and independence of thought. George Walker Bush used the words imagine, picture, “what if as the important parts of covert hypnosis. These words brought people into imagination and follow commands. Both of them used emotional statement because they directly works with subconscious mind cut the critical analysis. From the Psychologie des Foules  written by Gustave Le Bon he identified that hypnotic suggestion could manipulated the group behavior.

Semiotic as the theory of lie manipulated people to just seeing one thing from the surface not by the depth of meaning. The surface could see from the concrete material such as sound, writes, picture or objects and the abstract material such as concept, idea, or meaning. Something different made up to draw attention build up the artificial reality by simulation of technology that accepted by audience as the truth. This we called as hyper realism. The hyper realism itself depends on how big something could charm, surprise, provoke and eye catching the target audience. So then, the humble candidate appears as someone who rides the mass transportation and lunch in cheap and humble food stall. This idea is show repetitive, make people trance with the sign or medium and forget about the meaning. Because, now medium is the message. Press who had affiliation with the candidate used this technique to created objectivity from subjectivity and lose their identity as the pillar of democracy to educate people and give them the right information.

Unfortunately, the game is last long. Time after time, press still controlled by capital owners. They are still maintains their early platform to carrying the candidate who then being a winner and now a leader. The perfect image still maintain by press who manage the positive perspective until lack of their critical point of view although the leader is break the rules, take unpopular step, oligarchy with their relatives or colleagues, and so on. The unique is the past voters of the winner leader still being a part of social media loyalist fan base who always alert to people who confront government policy. The irony is, the leader who grow up with the help of media now gag the critical sound both of the press with opposite platform and humble citizen who talks loud about social and political critics labeled as public enemy. Public enemy is the one who could not trust government agenda of change although in the fact there is no or very minimum agenda implementation. The unstable of law, politic, and economy issued perceptive as transition which have no clear limit or goal. Perfect propaganda blind some people and make them could not seeing from another perspective. Most likely this is the grand plan of the big power to control the country by mass hypnosis and the reason behind is still unknown.

At the conclusion, independence of thinks and talks is precious things of being human. Individuality should be original and not easy influenced by mass media, society or abnormal leadership approach. Self-confident and originality being the keys for us to still being independent and sane instead of going with the flow of mass hypnosis. Last but not least, we should appreciate what God give to every human nature: intuition and our unconscious mind.

Modern life often ignored the unconscious communication such as speech patterns, physical activity while speaking, tone voice, facial expression and body language. Too much data in the ages of information also bring us to be more aware about intuition. More alert about intuition we would be knew about the hidden emotions, recognize a lie or manipulation, unexplainable dislike or uncertainty about someone or something, understanding about a concept, idea, insight and also possibility. This is the one way to gain the truth and real information behind of sign and surf

As the closing, this is the quote from Malcolm X that needs our attention: The medias the most powerful entity on earth. They have power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty look innocent. And thats power. Because they are control the minds of the masses.