Journalism of Contradiction, Not Freudian Psychology!

For the world in which war and terrorism are equally a source for news, Indonesia has a special place for a great journalism. A series of bombing, a continuous threats and attacks by radical groups, warfare launched by different wings of ISIS-related individuals and religious issues being re-branded as blatant oppression to Muslim citizens, those are things dear to any writer. Coming out from the land specifically considered one of the best role models for democracy the Asian way, any savvy reporter might bring home tons of materials to be molded into terrific writing.

Keep the aforementioned in sight, another face of Indonesia is strikingly a contradiction. Streams of foreign visitors have afforded the country a fame which is of envy to many. Here is the land of paradise where you can discover everything you need to build a splendid civilization from scratch. People and nature are so peaceful, to start with, while abundance of noble ideas in the minds of people and a rainbow of cultures are there to be rethought. 

Trying to comprehend these seemingly realities of contradiction, a writer might think of Indonesia having a double, a shadowy personality beneath her peaceful appearance. Another one goes even further by believing that she is deceitful, that is overly friendly for a purpose. A fraction of journalists might temp to sum up it all as such is Asian!

Majority of these kinds of writing would surely be presented not in an overt way. We therefore have to observe the way Indonesia being portrayed in their publications and the thread of ideas being woven. To give a hint, one of the most popular strategies being activated is that there are unforgivable contradictions having made up the souls of Indonesia. 

I have no pretensions that writing Indonesia that way is totally a wrong move to make. On the other hand, I have no justifiable reasons to believe that it is the best writers can think of my country.

I think foreign journalists are intellectually bound to their own culture. I mean, look at the angles being taken to navigate their writings. It is too Freudian psychology by nature! That you talk about peace, that you fiercely condemn barbarity of Western-led wars anywhere they love to make, but that you act amnesiac to your own homegrown violence, these are not necessarily a massive proof of being hypocritical. It is not even any case of Freudian slip.

The fact is that many Indonesians are actively fighting all these insane contradictions on a daily basis. If you happen to read some Indonesian bloggers or social media activists, you would know how brutal the war of words and ideas are inside the contemporary Indonesia. Some are persistently doing it with the risk of being hurt or even murdered.

The same is true to another brand of bloggers and activists. They keep pumping into the public life a flux of hatred, twisted ideas of religious virtues and even bending political issues to prove their cause ideologically. 

You are correct to think that fighting contradiction leads us into perusing psychologist perspective. It is simply irresistible. You are but to enter the minds and to wage war on bloodthirsty ideas right there. But before hurrying up things into Freud psychoanalysis that covert anger hides inside peacefulness of attitude, that is not all that is for journalism.

This is where I think the best way to reason out why Indonesia has a special place for a great journalism. It is precisely the contradiction! Instead of trying to resolve it the Freudian way, why not try to dive deep into each contradiction to know what is there being aspired for and how they might be made to function as constructive elements for peace-making process – surely without being compromised.

As a country of predominantly Muslim with wealth of both natural resources and a huge pool of talents, Indonesia carries multiple hopes people of the world attach to. And the best of all is that peace might be woven and promoted beautifully from the bottom of her heart. 

Journalism of contradiction for peace, I think, is the answer. Such is the ultimate news!