In 1956, Kenneth Boulding in his book The Image wrote an illuminating point that “…nations are the creation of not of their historians but of their enemies”.  And later, Deutsch in 1963 makes the same observation, “the choice of national alignments and national identity is related to the decision to choose a common enemy”.

This is of course a rather deviation from an etymologically definition of nation which refers to a group of people linked by birth. It is also different from Anderson’s idea of nation as “an imagined political community”. But, both Boulding’s and Deutsch’s assertions are laid, to some extent, to that of Max Weber who wrote “…it is proper to expect from nationality groups a specific sentiment of solidarity in the face of other groups”.

Common enemies, as Weber observes, lead to a common solidarity. They also, as Sherif and Sherif noted in their book Groups in Harmony and Tension in 1953, manifest in in-group identification and loyalty. A clear example is the recent experience of the United States. At the aftermath of the 9/11, the American people were united. The Left and the Right were rallied behind their national leader. Bush's approval ratings at that time were between 80-90%, the highest in his tenure so far.

That Indonesia has survived a severe multi-complex turbulence during the last five years - from economic, politics, and regional crisis to terrorism, have both surprised and impressed many. Three or four years ago, the speculation widely circulating among media, scholars, politicians, leaders, and even among the Indonesian folks was: the Balkanization of Indonesia. But today, the country is still united as one nation.

Whether the Indonesian people viewed the crisis as their enemies, which energized a sense of solidarity and loyalty among them, remains open to debates and a thorough research. But the achieved unity is not without cost. In fact, the cost is staggering. More than 13 thousands of people were killed in various conflicts occurred in the country, and more than a million have been displaced.

It is not entirely wrong to assume that Boulding’s and Deutsch’s assertions apply to Indonesian people. After all, through out the nation’s history, especially during her struggle for independence, they had shown a remarkable solidarity and a sense of unity, from October 28, 1928 – the historic Youth Pledge: One Country, One Nation, One Language - to November 10, 1945 – the heroic resistance demonstrated by Indonesian fighters through out the country, especially in the battle of Surabaya in November 1945 against the Allied’s invasion. They pledged their unity and they fought with an extraordinary spirit of heroism.

The ultimate example, of course, is when the founding fathers opted for unity during their debate in August 18, 1945 about the nation’s foundation. Instead of backing a clause that could open a possibility of transforming the country into a theocracy state – and thus would divisively divide the nation, the founding fathers voted for a clause that accommodates all people of the nation as they clearly stated in the last sentence of the preamble of the nation’s constitution: social justice for all Indonesians.

In August 18, 1945, although the Colonial power still existed, the founding father no longer saw it as the main common enemies. As they put forth at the first sentence of the fourth paragraph of the Constitution’s preamble, the common enemies were and are reflected in the duty to “protect the whole Indonesian people” and “to advance their general welfare”.

For a skeptic who has doubts about the future of the nation’s unity, such historical precedents might be helpful to catch sight of a new perspective.  But, those precedents are actually much more helpful to the current and future nation’s leaders and elites so that they can understand how to not only keep the nation united, but also to realize the dreams of her people. The lesson is simple: what are our common enemies?

Today, our common enemies are not the Neo-colonial power. They are neither foreigners nor foreigners with guns and tanks. Our common enemies are ourselves and the conditions that worsen our people’s lives. Just as the founding fathers have set, our common enemies are not people - let alone our fellow Indonesians. They are not nations, either. But they are attitude and mentality.

Our enemies are the mentality that has corrupted the nation and the conducts that have put the nation’s future at a great or complete uncertainty. Our enemies are the conditions such as poverty, ignorance, intolerance, immorality, self-centre attitude and laziness that have strongly impede any efforts to build a better nation. Today’s leaders and elites should have put these two kinds of enemies at the right context and energize the nation to combat them.

Clearly, we cannot fight those two kinds of enemies with sharpened bamboos just like our heroes did in 1945 when they fought the colonial power. Our weapons are not guns. Neither are tanks nor jet fighter Sukhoi. But our weapons are law, regulations, education, compassion, motivation, and last but not least, our spirit of heroism. These weapons are neutral and it is the people who use them that determine their usefulness or purpose. A knife in the hand of a chef is a tool to make a delicious food. But a knife in the hand of a murderer is a tool to kill people.

Equivalently, a law in the mind of a mentally corrupt people is an instrument to be broken for self-centre motives at the expense of others. For them, today's situation perhaps is a heaven to capitalize from the lack of law enforcement and many loopholes in the country.  A fresh example is the latest BNI scandal which involves the alleged issue of letters of credit for non-existent sand exports to Africa worth $200 million, a scandal that has costed the bank at least $110 million. But a law in the mind of good people is an instrument to be abided for the good of the nation.

Education in the possession of good people is an opportunity to learn about nature and human beings so that they can create a better way of improving their relationship with nature and with their fellow human beings. The entire purpose of education, as John Dewey wrote, is “to nurture individuals to discover their full power and potential” for the benefits of humankinds. On the contrary, education in the possession of mentally corrupt people is a chance to grab a big private gain by leaving others in pain.

Whether the well-educated Indonesians have fully grasped their potential and their obligation to build a better country is open to debates. But for the last 35 years, much of the nation’s resources have been corrupted by the country’s bureaucrats through their collusions with the country’s businessmen. It is hard to argue that those bureaucrats who committed such practices are the less educated ones. What missing from them, therefore, is not so much their managerial or intellectual capabilities. What is really absent is their spirit of heroism. 

Motivation in the minds of mentally corrupt politicians and leaders is a mess to the nation’s future and a grass to selves. In contrasts, motivation is the minds of good-clean  politicians and (group) leaders is a rosy future of the nation. So, what missing from them is not so much their leadership or intellectual capabilities. What is really absent is their spirit of heroism. 

Webster's Eleventh Collegiate Dictionary defines hero as: (a) a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability, (b) an illustrious warrior, (c) a man admired for his achievements and noble qualities, and (d) one that shows great courage. These definitions of hero are woefully inadequate.  They predominantly emphasize on the physical and on great strength, placing mind, intellect and moral character secondarily.

My definition of hero is an individual with high moral stature and superior ability who pursues his goals persistently and patiently in the face of powerful adversary(ies) and temptation for the benefits of self and his surroundings. Because of his unfailing devotion to the good, no matter the opposition and temptation, a hero attains dignity even in he fails to achieve practical victory. Thus, the components of heroism are moral greatness, competency, courage, action in the face of opposition, triumph in at least a spiritual, if not a physical form, and the balanced between social and personal concerns.

Simply, heroes are the ones who hold rational values and fight for them through a positive way; heroes are roles model who serve as an inspiration to others and make a difference in society; heroes are individuals who are dedicated to the creation and/or defense of reality-conforming and life-promoting values; heroes are the individuals who creates values; and heroes are the ones who defend the creation from evil, the ones who regards human life as precious.

Thus, heroes are the peacemakers who have led the way to non-violent change and resolutions to conflicts; heroes are the business people who have successfully created businesses through constructive ways which society has benefited from; heroes are the artists who have shared their talents and brought us a new version of life; heroes are the writers whose words and stories added meaning to our lives; heroes are the fathers and the mothers who endure hardships and have gone through struggles in order to raise their children to become better individuals; heroes are the scientist whose research and dedication have helped our quality of life; heroes are the teachers who inspire us to learn; heroes the honest sportsmen and sportswomen whose incredible feats have made us strive for greatness; heroes are the givers who give some of their own fortunes for the benefits of others; and heroes are the “good Samaritan” strangers who can lift our spirit or give us hope through acts of unconditional kindness.

So, heroism is not simply about Ramboism, but is about making a positive difference and improving lives through a positive means.

Imagine a world without heroes; a world which is only dwelled by haters whose main goals in life are just to destroy others; a world filled by deceitful whose main objective is to take chances for a self-glory at the expense of others; a world filled by people who care only the ends than the means; a homo-homini lupus world; a world is envisaged by Nietzche where talks about truth actually are merely power struggles. Surely, that would be an Andrea’s and Galileo’s world as described by the following conversation in Galileo by Bertolt Brecht:

Andrea (Galileo’s student): "Unhappy is the land that has no heroes."
Galileo: "No Andrea, unhappy is the land that needs a hero."

Our nation is not so much different from Andrea’s and Galileo’s world. We desperately need heroes - the heroes that inspire others to make a positive difference and color the dreams of our youth, in order to make ours a better nation. We live in tumultuous times. We continue to deal with the external as well as the internal threats of terrorism. We must deal with the various conflicts in many parts of the country.  We must create enormous number of jobs for our people to survive. We must take care of huge inefficiencies in the plans and the implementations of our development programs.  And, above all, we must defeat our common enemies: the corrupt mentality and the poor conditions of our social, economic and political lives.

Our tremendous need for inspiration and positive role models of heroes increase exponentially as our nation faces more complex challenges in the future. The question now is, how will the nation produce heroes that could be victorious over the common enemies? A national campaign to search and recognize heroes is highly needed. This campaign will be aimed at identifying and promoting heroes, educating people about heroes and heroic action, and inspiring young people to become heroes.

As the famous singer and song-writer Bod Dylan once said, “I think of a hero as someone who understands the degree of responsibility that comes with his freedom,” the national campaign will not a political campaign. It is simply a mindset enhancing campaign which emphasizes personal and social responsibilities over freedom. It is an inculcation of a spirit of heroism to the youth, because for long they have had no clue as who are the role models, heroes, they should emulate.