http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/columns/story-of-christmas-offers-genuine-example-of-servant-leadership-for-indonesian-politicians/563332
Story of Christmas Offers Genuine Example of Servant Leadership for Indonesian Politicians Aleksius Jemadu | December 24, 2012 C.S. Lewis, a well-known philosopher-theologian, from Cambridge University once said, “Mankind is so fallen that no man can be trusted with unchecked power over h is fellows.” He agreed with Aristotle that some people were only fit to be slaves but slavery, according to Lewis, should be rejected on the grounds that no man is fit to be a master. When we reflect on the significant number of our politicians and bureaucrats who end up in jail after being implicated in various forms of corruption and immoral behavior, we must say that Lewis has good reason to tell us that human depravity will ultimately determine the credibility of a political institution like democracy. Then we are confronted with this question: what kinds of impulses lead many of our politicians and bureaucrats to trade away their integrity as public officials? We can identify at least two of them. First, in this materialistic world where people tend to make no distinction between need and want, the temptation of self-enrichment through the embezzlement of public money very often becomes irresistible. After all, the combination of a hedonistic culture and weak law enforcement has made Indonesia one of the most corrupt nations in Asia. To make things worse, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) is often abandoned when doing its job. This is because within the framework of our law enforcement system we can hardly find any government institution that is equally committed to enforce the principles of clean governance. Second, although extramarital affairs also happen in other professions, over the last few years there has been a significant increase of reports on various forms of sexual immorality among our public officials within the legislative and executive bodies. It is interesting to discover why vertical mobility in the possession of power and influence has a positive correlation with a tendency to deviate from normal or appropriate sexual behavior. Reports of remarriage among civil servants are also on the rise. When family values are ignored we can expect to see the damaging and debilitating ramifications in society. After all, children learn the sanctity and purity of marriage from the behavior of their parents. Aware of the issue’s urgency, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told those who attended the event to mark the 84th National Mothers’ Day event that men had to respect women and the institution of marriage It is often said that the predisposition of our heart determines the authenticity of interpersonal communication. Jurgen Habermas, in his various publications, reminds us of communicative rationality’s importance and the damaging effect of instrumental rationality in politics. The first concept refers to communication between those who are entrusted with political power and the people, which is characterized by the principle of respect for other human beings. So, with the use of communicative rationality, there is no manipulation and objectification of the people in the operation of political power. Unfortunately, the political communication of most of our politicians is still characterized by instrumental rationality by which people or voters are treated as mere numerical objects for the attainment of political power. Once the politicians win their seats in the parliament they forget the people. They enjoy the freedom to do whatever they want including somewhat tricky arrangements of not so necessary yet costly comparative studies regardless of widespread resistance from taxpayers. Christmas is a good opportunity to reflect on the restoration of an authentic political communication between those in the position of leadership and the people. Manipulation and deception by the ruling elite were also rampant when Jesus was born around two millennia ago. In those days the Jewish people were not only object of political repression and economic exploitation by the Roman Empire but also became powerless victims of various kinds of religious burden imposed by Jewish chief priests and teachers of the law. We have to add to this sorry state of affairs the heartless and murderous rule by King Herod, who mercilessly massacred all 2-year-old boys and under just for the sake of his own political power. It has become like an iron law that when those in power are enslaved by their ambition for power, the love of money and sexual indulgences, it is the weak people who will be sacrificed and feel the pain. It is easy to talk about the concept of servant leadership but we can hardly find its practice in the midst of triumphing superficial populism. Jesus Christ, God Incarnate, chose to be born in a manger and throughout his earthly life he didn’t only preach humility but showed it with real actions even to the point of a tragic death on the cross. What a wonderful and compelling example for our political world where the display of selfishness and indifference has become the norm of the day. Aleksius Jemadu is dean of the School of Government and Global Affairs at Universitas Pelita Harapan, Karawaci. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
