Responding to Jokowi Mania’s report about the Tempo Magazine cover illustration which is considered to discredit the President is very unfortunate. That should not be a problem. Moreover, the press media is a forum for people’s aspirations.
We know Tempo as a very credible press media. Able to accommodate the aspirations of the people widely and well. Interpreting President Jokowi’s face in the magazine as a form of humiliation is a hurried act. At least every accusation has an argument basis. Because an illustration is dynamic and contains the meaning of social life.
Illustration of images is a part of the art. Every illustration art has universal meaning. People are free to interpret the results of a picture illustration according to their understanding. Moreover, these illustrations come from trusted media. Which certainly contains moral messages of life.
If we try to understand it, the picture of Pinocchio’s shadow behind the President’s face and the phrase ‘Promise Stay Promise’ represent the condition of anti-corruption confusion over the promise of the President. They considered the revision of the KPK Law would hamper the course of eradicating corruption. Pinocchio’s picture illustrates where the President did not keep his promise to the anti-corruption.
In a democratic country, all people are free to express. Freedom of print and online media is proof that this is a demos country. Jokowi Mania and PDIP should understand that. In demos, more imagination is needed. Imagination can increase one’s reasoning to wise understanding.
Our political condition has now entered into a transitional culture of reporting, reactive, and lack of imagination. Everything, for them always smells discriminatory and harassing. The advantage is lust satisfaction.
The culture then incarnated the ITE Law. Any expression that harasses others will enter the realm of law. Of course, this disturbs the freedom of expression. Even more fatal if literary works and art on social media violate the ITE Law. Above all, the face of our country is more like the face of the past where people are silent and afraid.
Imagination is the process of telos. In Greek, telos can mean end, purpose, and purpose. Imagining does not mean imagining or making it up. Reactive claims without knowing the clarity, lust controlled more than the imagination first.
Therefore, understanding a Tempo magazine picture illustration work must be accompanied by imagination. Don’t just accuse harassment and such. Especially to be brought into the realm of law. Living in a democratic country should be more trained soul to withstand prejudice. Because in a democracy everything can happen. Everything will happen in this country.
Democracy grows in diversity. Expressions from all elements of diversity are protected. According to Gus Dur and other figures, pluralism coupled with tolerance breeds harmony.
Harmony arises because of the attitude of respect and wisdom in responding to an event. Don’t stutter and contemplate the various events that occur.
The debate among academics and the public who pay attention to the way this government is a matter of criticism. Many of them say, the government now seems anti-criticism. For example, the ITE Law and may not harass the President.
But we must understand very well where harassment and criticism. Harassment grows from envy and envy. While criticism expresses certain social conditions. Is the illustration of a Pinocchio picture in Tempo magazine including harassment?
People’s judgment is different. However, the current socio-political conditions may represent all differences in public opinion. This means that the illustration of the face of a Pinocchio behind the President pack contains elements of public anxiety. That way we as educated beings should take a moment, to imagine the image rather than reactive to something that is still common.
Educational Contributions
Seeing the facts, it is important to prepare a golden generation better than our generation. Critical, imaginative, and wise generation. Of course, schools and educational institutions are generally the best places to start.
Schools must change course from doctrinalisation to joint dialogue. Forcing students with knowledge that does not contain an element of openness or by force can make students stagnant.
The ability of students in the class average follows what the teacher says. Teachers say no, they obey. Saying yes, they are also obedient. This culture of doctrination in the learning process stops the imagination of students. It becomes a great danger if students are fed rigid religious knowledge.
According to Metta Prajna (Kompas), classes that are fed with rigid religious knowledge can make students look down on classmates of different religions. If so, what can be expected of such narrow-minded students?
Of course, his hopes have changed for the better. Because the narrow view that they have is very easy to make them tend to be reactive to something sensitive.
Therefore, according to Metta again, it is very important to give students room for imagination. Their young character needs to be filled with something complex not to entrap them with one knowledge. They are not only individuals who must be developed at school. Imagination can make them develop even better. Giving new knowledge that might not be available at school.
Issues of narrow knowledge that often cause noise — including Jokowi’s facial illustrations in Tempo magazine — are quite large. Difficult to change quickly. What we can do, is only to prepare future generations better.
