My rocked essay to ASEAN Journal

Towards ASEAN Community:

Are we Ready to Go With Our Culture?

Eka Pra Setiyawati

MA Ma’arif 06 Pasir Sakti East Lampung

Lampung, Indonesia

echa_axis@yahoo.com

Despite the massive campaign to wake up people that ASEAN Community is coming closer to our life, I remain focusing on my concern if we are ready to welcome it or not from the perspective of our culture. Exactly; whether it is okay or not okay and henceforth, I doubt that we are ready to welcome the borderless community referring to the facts that some bad culture of our people keep on happening.

When foreigners come here, specifically to Lampung, can we convince them that we have a good attitude toward cleanliness, and culture of throwing rubbish into its proper place? It seems a small thing to discuss; however; it is a big thing when it is done by the huge people at the same time and in every single move of them. These are what I Concern firstly and simply because I always experience this bad culture of people everywhere, event at Campus I had ever visited over Lampung Province. One day, I found luxury a car threw a way a box of cigarette on the way to Metro. In other day, I found a sedan car threw a pack of rubbish into the street whereas I was behind it. Can you imagine that event those people with luxury car can do this? How about those people, who do not well educated background, can they do this stupid action worse? Can we imagine how those foreigners coming to Lampung will and in fact, they find such a messy thing during interacting with local people here in our own place? Thus, up to this point I think we need to educate people with a good culture of Health and I believe that it may work if we work hand in hand all the time. 

My second concern indicating that we are not ready to embrace ASEAN Community is the security. As we always monitor our media pundits, we always watch how terrible our security is and how it can be presented to welcome our guest who want to see the beauty of Lampung. In fact, what was blown up in the media was only a small part of what really happened in our society. Unfortunately, security is the most terrifying factor making us worried  among the many factors indicating that we are not ready in sense of making a safe culture for everyone and moreover for foreigners. Thus, what we can do to eradicate this “bad culture” such as robbing, feverish and other negative things is by making the security sterile. Of course by campaigning people not to do so in any condition and situation. Unless we can make sure that our place is secure, our duty now is in a rush minute to implant people of behaving good culture in security. 

As a social human being, don’t you suppose that our life is being set by a system of habit? The setting habit which is not hardly parallel with a level of belief, commonly called as a culture. Even, culture has slipped into the value of human’s behavior. The globalization era, which give unlimited space for everyone, involve a mind set of human definitely becomes a victim of worsen culture. The facts that should be accepted by us as a bad sorting of culture outside. In which, a pure culture is being disfigured by several social imbalance, consumptive manner, capitalism, and dogmatic. These some judges of negative impact tend to serve the factual condition in our mingled culture.

As we know, most people convinced that Indonesia should be globalized for being an advanced country. From inexact perspective they totally imitate all social elements of west culture. They re-achieve the various west norms to be combined and applied in local culture. As a developing country, Indonesia certainly has remains of colonized set of mind. It cannot be denied since hundreds of years being slaved and shattered. The reasonable argument that relate to the way of how citizen welcome the social value of west culture. It seems tragic when they place it without any worries. Nowadays, social life is badly affected by west civilization. The sophisticated communication tool is one of the products of globalization. In good side, they positively socialize and communicate easily. Nevertheless, the bad side is more appeared one. Indonesia which had been outstanded with a social society shifted to the individual society. Direct communication is being ignored. They are busy with their modern gadget, and not notice everyone around them. Whereas, the information or communication which is not sorted well will cause the imbalance of behavior. Hence, the worst effect, there will be misunderstanding of each individual. Everyone more dare to argue in social media than in social life. For instance, Florensia, the student of Gajah Mada University, who insulted Jogjakarta city in twitter. Flo’s case and other similar cases are definitely judged as the big impact of globalization. A social media which is facilitated as the unlimited space for argue, is supposed become the exact media to do the immoral behaviors.

In another hand, a globalization also serves the huge facilities in every need. The spread of fast information makes everyone access it easily. Indeed, it will be positive bridge for all circle of individual. They can get information, communicate, study, and fill their need easily. But, those matters are totally not good whether accompanied by bad filter. Those facilities truly build an instant thought of human. Thus, the society has a consumptive manner in every field. The manner is clearly described on teenage life. Their consumptive actions are caused by several international products which are incorporated into national consumption. The desire of following global mode will slowly shift the local products. The bad value of life is certainly conveyed from those products. There are many teenagers who are proud of imitating west product. Those bad values are also found in some movies or lifestyle which oppositely slips into the norm of our own culture. Nowadays, we are actually attacked from all sides of human life. The further development of globalization is not aware well by our societies. Therefore, the instant need will be the instant thought of human who are low of creativity. They prefer consuming to creating something. However, our culture is an original product of creativity.

Henceforth, capitalism is the next effect which closes to social behavior. The manner of greedy is being existed in human attitude. Global life had taught the fast way grabbing huge income for life. Therefore, human’s thought has been usual to do so. This manner has badly spread slowly.

Upon all, I am not a pessimistic person to welcome ASEAN community, but I remind us that there is a lot of work to do in order to make our borderless people coming from overseas feel at home and convenience and repeatedly back to our place leaving investment for our growing people. Welcome Asean Community!.

WORKS CITED

[1]   "colonize." Kamus.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2014. Web. 2 Dec. 2014. <http://www.kamus.net/english/colonize>.

[2]   "capitalism." Kamus.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2014. Web. 2 Dec. 2014. <http://www.kamus.net/english/capitalism>.

[3]   "community." Kamus.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2014. Web. 2 Dec. 2014. <http://www.kamus.net/english/community>.

[4]   "culture." Kamus.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2014. Web. 2 Dec. 2014. <http://www.kamus.net/english/culture>.

"habit." Kamus.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2014. Web. 2 Dec. 2014. <http://www.kamus.net/english/habit>.