Martin Luther King, jr lives on with new White House
by Jennie S. Bev On Jan. 19, 2009, Martin Luther King, Jr. would have been 80 years old. His hair would have been all gray and his hardships would have been marked with deep wrinkles on his face. And he would have been the proudest person on earth to see the first...
Fighting crimes against humanity
by Jennie S. Bev Wednesday was the 60th anniversary of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We have come a long way from the first legal system, which was Hammurabi’s Code; to the universal concept of jus gentium; to the Magna Carta; to the first...
Writing for an imaginary homeland
by Jennie S. Bev Everything starts with words. Throughout history, every individual of any degree of importance in society has had at least one book and multiple short pieces written by, inspired by, or dedicated to him or her. Every major event and phenomenon is...
Life’s impermanence and momentary motherhood
by Jennie S. Bev Life is a series of impermanence. People and things come and go. There are hellos and goodbyes throughout our lifetime. But the most painful goodbye for a woman is the death of her child, either born or unborn. I did not realize how painful it was...
The politics of compassion
by Jennie S. Bev This November marks the 10th year commemoration of the 1998 Semanggi Tragedy I, which occurred on Nov. 11-13, 1998, which caused 17 deaths. Almost one year later, Semanggi Tragedy II occurred on Sept. 24, 1999, resulting in one death and 217 injuries....
Terminator’s lessons in leadership
by Jennie S. Bev I was invited to attend an annual presentation by the 38th governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, as organized by The Commonwealth Club, a public affairs forum, at the historical Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco last month. Beyond my...
Screening political soaps
by Jennie S. Bev If life were show business, then politics must have been a soap opera with twists and turns as well as climaxes and anti-climaxes found in Greek tragedies. The only difference is all scenes and chapters are reality and directly affect our well-being....
Hope from Silicon Valley
by Jennie S. Bev In September I attended a presentation by a group of distinguished movers and shakers in the region and by Silicon Valley Joint Venture Network’s President and CEO Russell Hancock. In the midst of a bleak economy, those who reside in...
Facing a U.S. downturn
by Jennie S. Bev The United States is heading into what is believed to resemble the ultimate economic nightmare: The Great Depression. Still, there is a joke circulating about George W. Bush's "limited" intelligence in which he was believed to have said,...
Obama’s campaign promises and us
by Jennie S. Bev Both Barack Obama and I once lived and grew up in the Menteng district of Central Jakarta. He went to SD Negeri 1 Menteng, while I went to Saint Theresia. Both schools were within a few minutes drive from each other, but of course unless time was a...
Intellectual politicians, treason, and schismogenesis
by Jennie S. Bev The "notion" --borrowing Barack Obama's favorite word according to Dr. Lee Thornton, the president of American Journalism Review-- that a public intellectual who decides to plunge into the political arena is either inappropriate or...
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...