May part 2
Once upon a time, May was just a month where I look forward to the attention I get because of my birthday. I don't always get presents, but the attention given to me was enough to make me happy. Now that I'm older, birthdays (when I actually remember them) are more of a time for reflecting what I've done the past year, be grateful for the good things and be depressed for what I missed :P
But 1998 added another meaning for May. At that time, the Indonesian student movement managed to change history by making a long time President step down from his 'throne', at least at face value. The student movement itself was triggered by students getting killed when they were peacefully protesting against the government's inability to maintain the costs of basic goods. Looking back, I'm pretty sure that the shootings itself was pre-meditated by ... someone... to create chaos and rock the boat. And of course, chaos did ensue, with mass hysteria as its partner in crime.
Now 9 years later, people seemed to forget the event ever happened. Some still had events to commemorate the victims of the shooting, but many others are just ignorant to it, including me. I was involved in the students movement back then. I was in the know of campus politics, which frighteningly, had connections to the nation's politics. I had fights with my parents, who were actually concerned for my well being, safety and life. Hey, I was a teenager. Teenagers are immortals, except those who got shot (yes, I obviously haven't gotten through Logic class lectures yet ^^;). I was an idealist at the time. And like many idealists, I had my own reality ^^;
Well, let's just say, 9 years is a long time, enough to transform an idealist into a jaded realist. And for some bizarre reason, I find that I'm more of a realist than my father, who I found has his own reality of idealism. How did we end up trading places like that? And this country, while at face value has made improvements economically wise, has still not been able to provide its many citizens with basic living necessities. I had a chat with an older friend the other day, and she commented how back in the day, not many people were deprived of food, but those who opposed the government end up missing, while now though the government are supposedly more democratic, many people in high places are unashamedly corrupt while many of their people are starving. So I asked her, which one is better, sweet illusions are bitter reality? We both didn't really have an answer to that ^^;
In 1966, a student movement also toppled down the current government, and somehow, the leaders of the student movements rose to be important people in the government in the 1990s. Which was ironic, because then they were made to step down by another generation of students. I do wonder if any of my fellow students from back then are into politics right now, or even have already in the positions of importance in the government. But from what I know, most of us went back to school, graduated, and entered the work force, trying to make ends meet. Interesting.
The news today, reporting memorials and how less people tend to go as years go by saddens me a bit, but I suppose most of us have to fulfill our basic needs first and work up our way up Maslow's pyramid. I guess that makes me shallow, but then again, that makes me human, too (justification, Rain is thy name). So now I'm going to go send a prayer for the dead and for this country, and then I'm gonna watch Spiderman 3 with my family :P After all, I still need to feel that I'm living. Oh yeah, need to make revisions for my thesis too. Gah, May... why does the deadline have to be the end of May? T__T
But 1998 added another meaning for May. At that time, the Indonesian student movement managed to change history by making a long time President step down from his 'throne', at least at face value. The student movement itself was triggered by students getting killed when they were peacefully protesting against the government's inability to maintain the costs of basic goods. Looking back, I'm pretty sure that the shootings itself was pre-meditated by ... someone... to create chaos and rock the boat. And of course, chaos did ensue, with mass hysteria as its partner in crime.
Now 9 years later, people seemed to forget the event ever happened. Some still had events to commemorate the victims of the shooting, but many others are just ignorant to it, including me. I was involved in the students movement back then. I was in the know of campus politics, which frighteningly, had connections to the nation's politics. I had fights with my parents, who were actually concerned for my well being, safety and life. Hey, I was a teenager. Teenagers are immortals, except those who got shot (yes, I obviously haven't gotten through Logic class lectures yet ^^;). I was an idealist at the time. And like many idealists, I had my own reality ^^;
Well, let's just say, 9 years is a long time, enough to transform an idealist into a jaded realist. And for some bizarre reason, I find that I'm more of a realist than my father, who I found has his own reality of idealism. How did we end up trading places like that? And this country, while at face value has made improvements economically wise, has still not been able to provide its many citizens with basic living necessities. I had a chat with an older friend the other day, and she commented how back in the day, not many people were deprived of food, but those who opposed the government end up missing, while now though the government are supposedly more democratic, many people in high places are unashamedly corrupt while many of their people are starving. So I asked her, which one is better, sweet illusions are bitter reality? We both didn't really have an answer to that ^^;
In 1966, a student movement also toppled down the current government, and somehow, the leaders of the student movements rose to be important people in the government in the 1990s. Which was ironic, because then they were made to step down by another generation of students. I do wonder if any of my fellow students from back then are into politics right now, or even have already in the positions of importance in the government. But from what I know, most of us went back to school, graduated, and entered the work force, trying to make ends meet. Interesting.
The news today, reporting memorials and how less people tend to go as years go by saddens me a bit, but I suppose most of us have to fulfill our basic needs first and work up our way up Maslow's pyramid. I guess that makes me shallow, but then again, that makes me human, too (justification, Rain is thy name). So now I'm going to go send a prayer for the dead and for this country, and then I'm gonna watch Spiderman 3 with my family :P After all, I still need to feel that I'm living. Oh yeah, need to make revisions for my thesis too. Gah, May... why does the deadline have to be the end of May? T__T