It’s Time For General Election!
A big event in Indonesian history, the 2019 General Election, is coming up tomorrow. KALMers, some of you may be amped up to cheer on your candidate, some of you may even be experiencing strained relationships over your vote, and others…well, you may not even care at all about the General Election. Truth is, this is a polarizing time.
Here at KALM, we believe that every single person is more than their vote.
Theory of Mind
Why is that? In psychology, we call it “Theory-Of-Mind”. This theory says that as children, we slowly learn that someone else may know, feel, and want things differently than us, depending on what they’ve experienced in their life.
This is why watching horror, action, mystery, and romance movies/tv shows are so fun. We, the audience, know important information the other characters don’t. For example, there is a ghost in the old house, and the newlywed couple are moving into a deathtrap. The superhero doesn’t know that his best friend has decided to betray him because of jealousy. Cinta doesn’t know that Rangga is leaving to New York City, and only finds out at the last minute!
Fiction is neat. Important information is revealed to the audience and most of the time there are resolutions. But real life? Just stop and think about how radically different someone else’s experience is! What baggage they carry with them, what they know to be true, what ways their friends and family have been hurt, their deep conscious and subconscious values: everyone makes decisions based on a complicated mix of past experiences and present pressures – these factors affect their decisions. Including their vote in tomorrow’s General Election.
When We Are Different
In response to someone else’s difference often our first instant reaction is negative. We sneer at them, put them down, and we get angry. We call each other names like Kampret and Cebong; stupid and uneducated; elitist and misguided. We write it on our Facebook walls, Twitter feeds, and we even let it burn a hole in our hearts. We reduce them to that choice, we care only about that one choice!
A Better Way
Here at KALM, we want to encourage you to know the person, more than who they vote in the General Election – or whether they vote at all.
Because you’ll be surprised at how differently people will respond to openness instead of name-calling. Why do you want this and not that? Why do you feel in a way different than me? Why do you even think that in the first place?
KALM believes that if you know and understand someone else’s real concerns and wants, you can stand up for what’s right in both your life and theirs. You can address their fears. You can bless their dreams. You can sow peace – even when you choose a different candidate in the General Election.
At the end of the day we all ultimately want a better country and a better life.
KALM wishes all of you a peaceful and fair General Election process!
Author: Evannia Handoyo
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