Published at
04 Aug, 2025
Author
Gripastudio
Independence was never meant to be the end of struggle — it was the beginning of stewardship. What would our founding fathers whisper to us now, in this era of endless choices and fractured attention?
I remember how we used to celebrate August 17th when I was younger.
There was pride, yes — but also something quieter. A kind of reflection. A reverence. Before the era of social media and hashtags, we stood beneath the red and white flag with our hands on our chests, not just singing, but remembering.
We remembered what it took — the courage, the hunger, the sacrifice, the sheer impossibility of declaring independence under the shadow of occupation.
I often wonder… what went through their minds — our founding fathers — when they signed that proclamation in 1945?
It wasn’t just political courage. It was spiritual clarity. They weren’t demanding freedom from something. They were devoting themselves to something bigger.
Freedom: Not Just a Gift, but a Trust
We talk a lot about freedom today. The freedom to speak. To vote. To choose. To buy. To scroll.
But freedom doesn’t mean doing whatever we want. That’s indulgence.
Real freedom comes with weight. With awareness. With responsibility — for ourselves, for others, for this land we walk on.
“Bebas iku ora ateges sak karepmu.” Freedom is not the same as doing whatever you want.
Our ancestors fought so we could think freely, speak freely, dream freely — but they never intended for us to use that freedom carelessly.
Independence was never meant to be a finish line. It was a handoff.
Not for Glory, but Because It Felt Right
I sometimes think back to the way my father spoke about the war.
Not with pride. Not with drama. Not like someone who thought he was shaping history.
“It wasn’t that we were shouting merdeka atau mati every day,” he once said with a quiet smile. “It was just… the thing to do. Everyone was doing it.”
He never told those stories to elevate himself. If anything, he told them with humility — as if to say, I was just one among many. Ordinary people, swept up in extraordinary times.
That, perhaps, is what stayed with me the most. Independence didn’t arrive through slogans alone. It arrived through quiet action. Shared courage. A sense of knowing, deeply, that even if you weren’t certain it would succeed — you still had to try.
A Nation Still in the Making
The truth is, we are still becoming.
We may have gained our political freedom long ago — but many are still held captive. Not by foreign flags, but by poverty, misinformation, corruption, and inequality.
The colonisers now wear different masks — some digital, some systemic, some internal.
The battles today are not fought with rifles, but with algorithms, prices, power gaps.
The borders may be gone, but domination now hides in supply chains, in disinformation, in the widening distance between rich and poor.
From Flag to Ground
As a retiree, I’ve had the gift of slowing down. And with every passing August 17th, I feel more than nostalgia — I feel a calling.
To remember that this flag doesn’t just fly in the wind. It asks something of us.
It asks us to keep building what they started. Not through grand gestures, but through daily acts of integrity.
When we mentor someone without expecting return — when we choose honesty over shortcuts — when we help preserve the forests, oceans, and cultures that are our inheritance — that is patriotism too, in my view.
The Spirit of Stewardship
If you’re wondering what independence should feel like today — maybe it’s this:
Not louder parades. Not longer hashtags. But deeper care.
Care for the future we are shaping. Care for the nation we will hand over to the next generation.
“Aja mung mikir awake dhewe, mikoka kabecikan wong liya.” Don’t just think of yourself, think of what’s good for others.
We are not just citizens. We are stewards. And this nation — rich, wounded, beautiful — is not ours to consume, but to nurture.
A Quiet Salute
So this August 17th, before we post, before we celebrate, maybe let’s pause.
Not to romanticise the past, but to return to the spirit behind it.
To ask:
Am I living in a way that honors what they gave me? And more importantly: Am I giving something worthy to those who come next?
Because independence is not just a date on the calendar. It’s a daily decision.
A commitment not just to freedom — but to contribution.
Not just to rights — but to the future.
Final Whisper
I'd imagine maybe this is what they would say to us now, if they could:
“We gave you a country. But it’s up to you to give it a soul.”
Not with perfection. But with presence. With responsibility. With courage — not just to speak, but to serve.
Because true independence isn’t measured by how free we are — but by how much we care about those who aren’t.
And in that quiet care, lies the loudest kind of patriotism.
From one citizen, still learning to serve: Dirgahayu Indonesiaku. You are not perfect, but you are loved — endlessly.
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