To love our country, our country ought to be lovely
by Jennie S. Bev I once attended Robert "Hollywood Guru" McKee's screenwriting class in downtown San Francisco. During the analysis session Casablanca (starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henreid) was played on the projection screen. I was...
Beijing olympics: between friendship and power
by Jennie S. Bev "One world, one dream" is the official slogan of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. It is said to reflect these six values: unity, friendship, progress, harmony, participation, and dreaming. It also expresses the common desire of people all over the...
Here’s to punditocracy
by Jennie S. Bev We all live in an interesting time today. All kinds of forces have been affecting long and short-term policies, as well as macro, meso, and micro ones. There are thousands of causes to fight for, starting from the bottom of Abraham Maslow's...
Generation X, Y, and leadership
by Jennie S. Bev Indonesia's 2009 presidential election campaign promises to be exciting for Indonesians and the world. Unlike the two previous post-Soeharto elections, dominated by Baby Boomer candidates who eventually won, candidates from Generation X will...
Indonesia in food, fuel, and compassion crises
by Jennie S. Bev I live in Northern California, considered one of the wealthiest regions in the United States, where the global intellectual hub of Silicon Valley neighbors the panoramic San Francisco Bay area and where luminaries like Larry Page and Sergey Brin (the...
Citizen diplomacy and cross-cultural pollination
by Jennie S. Bev Post Sept. 11, the world is getting more polarized and more religious as well as anti-religious. This tiny blue planet is getting more divided and Indonesia is no exception. It is a reality check to acknowledge, to reflect and to act upon. It is true...
Conscientiasclerosis and legalized persecution
by Jennie S. Bev I love Indonesia and Indonesians, but I have some reservations whenever it comes to acknowledging a particular government. I had high hopes for Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, for he is the first president of Indonesia directly elected in a fair, square and...
Islamic view on jurisprudence and compassion
by Jennie S. Bev When I was pursuing a law degree at the University of Indonesia, I became fascinated by Islam as the one and only religion of laws approved in Indonesia out of only a few “official” religions. At the time, I did not learn much about Islamic notions of...
The fallacy of equality and persecution
by Jennie S. Bev Two centuries ago, John Adams said, "Facts are stubborn things, and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence". This still rings true to this very day and...
Is Indonesia slipping back from its historic tolerance?
by Jennie S. Bev This month marks the 10th anniversary of the reformasi movement in Indonesia. Begun with the shootings of four Trisakti University students in Jakarta, a week of violent demonstrations throughout Java followed, and the subsequent political turmoil,...
Ten years after May 1998 tragedy
by Jennie S. Bev This May, we are commemorating the 10th anniversary of the May 1998 tragedy, which is better known as the May 1998 riots. This historic incident is an important life-changing milestone in many people's lives, whoever they are. I lost my innocence...
Compassionate democracy: myth or reality?
by Jennie S. Bev Democracy in its simplest definition refers to rule by the majority, in which their voice determines decisions. In other words, this definition implies that minorities have very little, or even no voice at all. While there are instances of...
America the undereducated?
by Jennie S. Bev In a global world that will judge us on our intellect, the United States is falling behind. The Mountain House Branch Library allows every member to check out 50 items at a time. But according to Susan Jacoby, in her highly acclaimed book, The...
“Fitna” and digital exclusion
by Jennie S. Bev In October last year, Indonesian Internet users enjoyed momentary happiness when Communications and Information Minister Muhammad Nuh personally promised "free speech among bloggers,” and then when both the government and private sectors agreed...
Banality and compassion
by Jennie S. Bev Modern lifestyle is known to be quite monotonous and routine. Many people work, live, and even breathe on cruise-control auto-pilot mode. Those who follow the rules are oftentimes stamped as “good gatekeepers” and those who despise and challenge the...
Romancing the Koran in Indonesia
by Jennie S. Bev Indonesians have been flocking to a wildly popular novel by a young Indonesian named Habiburrahman El-Shiraz, and now an equally popular new movie, Ayat-Ayat Cinta, (translated as Love Verses). At first blush the work sounds hopelessly and religiously...
Prophetic mindset
by Jennie S. Bev Easter is associated with the resurrection of the Savior. For two millennia, Jesus Christ has been regarded as the one who sacrificed himself to save humankind with his divine power as granted from God. However, not many people, even Christians,...
Gender equalities and urgency for fair masculinism
by Jennie S. Bev March 8th is international women’s day. Indonesian culture and laws reflect a utopian message that men and women live in harmony, in an environment that each gender understands and executes their responsibilities wisely. In this notion, men serve as...
Islam and competing in doing good
by Jennie S. Bev Indonesia is a country with three legal systems: civil (continental), Islamic, and adat (customary). Above all, Indonesia is said to be a country based on the concept of rule of law, which is reflected in the 1945 Constitution. But there are also gray...
Pandora’s box: shariah law in Indonesia
by Jennie S. Bev A declaration that existing local shariah laws can stay in place could generate more shariah laws. In November 2007, Indonesia won the prestigious Democracy Award from the International Association of Political Consultants (IAPC) for its peaceful...
The power and abuse of language in politics
by Jennie S. Bev Language is a powerful tool in politics and politicians are its most superfluous users, both for good and bad purposes. As George Orwell once wrote in his short piece “Politics and the English Language,” within a masterpiece Why I Write,...
The urgency of teaching political literacy
by Jennie S. Bev Recently, we have been hearing about many things in Indonesian political arena. Most of them call themselves as participants in Indonesia’s reformation era. All consider themselves as noble participants. They want Indonesia to be a better place. A...
Lauding the late Tom Lantos
by Jennie S. Bev On Monday, California’s 12th District congressman, Tom Lantos, died from esophageal cancer. He was 80. The San Mateo Democrat was diagnosed before the end of last year, but waited a month before revealing he was terminally ill. He was the only...
Being Chinese is a personal decision and choice
by Jennie S. Bev A recent statement by Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, a much respected, loved and admired leading ulema and a former president of Indonesia, who said he is a descendant of princess Champa, whose son Tan Eng Hwan was known by his given...
The possibility of indicting Soeharto after his death
by Jennie S. Bev Soeharto has died after more than 20 days of being hospitalized. While his family members, close friends and cronies are expressing their grief, more than one million people who have lost loved ones are waiting anxiously for the news that he...
Raciality and being post-racial
by Jennie S. Bev Recently, Detective Nate Cogburn of the Tracy Police Department arrested a 14-year-old boy who reportedly made a series of phone calls on a blocked number, claimed to be a Ku Klux Klan member, made death threats and said he would burn a cross. This...
Survive downturn with chutzpah
by Jennie S. Bev On Thursday morning, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi confirmed that a financial stimulus package of tax rebates and child credits has been agreed upon between the White House and congressional leaders. This is great news for middle-class Americans. It is...
Don’t let next president run amok
by Jennie S. Bev Mike Huckabee. Mitt Romney. Hillary Clinton. Barack Obama. These four presidential candidates’ names have been spotlighted here and there, near and far, online, on TV and in print. These names have been echoing in our minds, but apparently the...
The need for religious literacy in a multicultural society
by Jennie S. Bev As a layperson who was born and raised in one of the most diverse countries in the world with one dominant religion, and who eventually came to reside in a secular multicultural country, I have come to learn a lot about how to respect and...
Smart money on a stay-the-course fed
by Jennie S. Bev The Federal Reserve is the economic institution in this country that can influence interest rates by issuing discount rates, also known as primary credit rates, that are intended to stabilize the financial system. The decision to increase or cut such...