Indonesian Nationalism and the Nation’s Future 

Nationalism is the idea in which believes the nation should be in agreement with the state. With this ideology, its citizen needs to behave a certain way, not only politically but also socially, in a way that it lines with the cultural norm of a particular geographical area.  This also means that the people have the love and goal of preserving that country’s social aspects like tradition, culture, norm, and way of living, among many others, it is a country’s thought and point of view. The goal of nationalism is to unite people and establish state sovereignty. Meanwhile, according to the KBBI, nationalism is derived from the words “national” and “ism,” and it is nationalism that embodies awareness and the spirit of love for one’s homeland. Similar to the love for queen and country from the UK, the Indonesia equivalent of this is cinta tanah air or love for the homeland.

The goal of nationalism is to unite people and establish state sovereignty

The behavior in which the citizens of a nation acts reflect how great the spirit of nationalism is in a country. This can be seen by how the citizens act towards regulations, laws, and their reactions toward different social issues when they emerge in the country. It can also be seen by how the citizens are willingly, or unwillingly following the laws that are set in by the country’s government. Nationalism also expects its citizen to be tolerant towards other people from different backgrounds, believes, culture, race, ethnicity, and many more. It means that the citizens are expected to be inclusive and accepting. Lastly, citizens with huge emphasis in spreading their culture and norms may it be externally, like promotion through the various mediums in the world wide web, or internally, as to love and keep the culture and tradition alive among their own citizens, is also a way to measure the spirit of nationalism of a country’s people.

Nationalism also expects its citizen to be tolerant towards other people from different backgrounds, believes, culture, race, ethnicity, and many more

Ultimately, huge emphasis is placed on citizens to spread culture and norms through either external or internal mediums. The efforts are meant to grow the love and preservation of traditions among the people today and can be a measure of nationalism spirit.

Seeing that, there’s also more ways we can express our nationalism spirit and love for Indonesia, especially as part of the Generation Z and Millennials. One, by not only purchasing but also using Indonesian made products.  Contribution to the advancement of the country’s name by engaging in beneficial activities; the example for this are focusing on one’s academics, competing in extracurricular activities, following the laws and rules in the area, be in kind and respectful towards not only Indonesians, but also foreigner that might be interested in learning this nation’s cultures.

As Millennials and Generation Z, we frequently misunderstand ‘nationalism’ as a negative form of behavior because of the connotation that leads to fanaticism towards the country in the name of all state actions being positive. Thought like this encourage certain generations to avoid nationalism. Nationalism education programs in Indonesia should be designed to meet the needs of today’s world. Nationalism in the context of colonialism is no longer useful for Millennials and Generation Z. Nationalism is similar to teaching and demonstrating that their efforts are worthwhile later on for the development of Indonesia in the future to the interests of nationalism to these young generations. In short, nationalism must be accompanied by awareness in order for us to continue to run and instill in the souls and minds of future generations of Indonesian youth.

Nationalism education programs in Indonesia should be designed to meet the needs of today’s world

What is the most significant type of nationalism? To run and continue in such a way that the connotation of fanaticism is not associated with nationalism. What fanaticism entails is an encouragement to blindly follow false doctrines and dogmas which stir both logic and emotion to damage others in fulfilling one’s goals. A nationalist fanaticism disregards any consideration which does not align with the state’s interests. This can be harmful because the state can’t function as a socio-political actor of its own, it needs the help and support of outside mutuals. If the fanatics stop that function to work peacefully, the state’s progress will stagnate even though they may think they have done something good.

References:

• Welianto, A. (2019). Nasionalisme: Arti, Sejarah, dan Tujuan. 1(1), 1. https://www.kompas.com/skola/read/2019/12/29/180000269/nasionalisme-arti-sejarah-dan-tujuan?page=all