Name : Ilham Ramadlan

Class : 5A
Student ID : 2108364
DESCRIPTIVE WRITING: My Country
In-Between of Over Patriotism and Defeatism
Reflecting on my elementary school days brings back a flood of memories and
laughter shared with friends who remain an important part of my life until now. But I’m not
going to talk about my friends, instead I'd like to focus on the innocent perspective I once
held about my country, Indonesia, during my early school years.
During that period, my daily routine involved donning a white and red uniform and
carrying a heavy bag filled with some thick subject books. The school itself was small,
located in the heart of a rural area. Those years were precious, marked by sense of optimism
and dreams, although for some, their dreams would later fade away. Anyway, history was my
favourite subject and to hear stories from the past from my teacher was really exciting,
especially history related to Indonesia. Of course, the civic education book and the history
book provided a lot of information that shaped me of how I saw Indonesia, how do I saw it?
Well, I saw the ideology, Pancasila, as the most perfect ever ideology to ever grace the world,
and I saw our founding father, Mr. Soekarno as an ideal leader, I even idolized him, I was
basically trying to be like him, I was once taking a photo using a suit and the iconic black cap
to capture his spirit. I was oozing my patriotism because I believed once that we have the best
ideology, and once we had one perfect leader. The book told me that this country is rich, that
the ideology is flawless, that the leaders and the heroes are sinless. Well it was the things that
portrayed and printed in the book, but in reality? The curriculum often neglected to highlight
the imperfections of our nation and the reality that leaders like Mr. Soekarno were not
flawless individuals. Was I told by school books or teachers? No, the truth is not uncovered
in a four side walls of a classroom, but why? isn’t it crucial for us to acknowledge historical
figures of our own country in a genuine way? Was I hurt when I knew the truth that my
country and my inspiration, Mr. Soekarno is not as perfect as I imagined them to be?
Definitely. But do I ever lose hope on my country? No. And I didn’t turn into a Mr. Soekarno
hater either because he’s a human being just like me, he served and he sinned. Also, once I
knew the practice of corruption has been done since the colonial era and that colonial era
itself wasn’t exactly 350 years long as it’s written in the school books, did I turn into a
pessimist and defeatist? No either. I’m in between now, once I was a boy scout who’s oozing
my over proudly patriotism, and now I see many people want to leave Indonesia because
many thinks the red and white flagged country is beyond salvation. But I won’t leave
Indonesia, not now, no matter how hard it is to endure the government bad jokes, I will sit
still and wait. After all, I was born here, my roots and the little laugh I had of me and my little
friends are also in here.
Sure, my perspective of Indonesia has evolved over time and may continue to change.
Just like what Green Day said, the innocence can never last, right? But the good, the bad, and
the ugly side of my country, I’m a part of it too.