Despite a call for ”a week of mourning” by the current Indonesian president, most peoples in the islands of Indonesia are moving on with their lives this week.
Little mourning is seen, for example, in Bali where many suffered in the 1965-1966 massacres and civil war.
When I coyly asked with several Indonesians here on Bali over whether there was a possibility that the Suharto family will move beyond simply apologizing for the crimes of their father (and would begin to return the billions owed the people of Indonesia)?
These Indonesians looked at me and laughed.
They belly-laughed at the thought that the Suharto family would ever (on their own free will) move beyond simply apologizing—unless courts and the Indonesian government finally do what is right and just in handling these vast episodes of corruption.
In short, the forgiveness offered Suharto at his death by so many victims of his rule, may or may not bring some moral or emotional benefits to new generations of Indonesians.
AMERICA AND ATONEMENTNative Indonesian faiths, including Hinduism, Islam, and other atavistic religions and tradions emphasize days of renewal and forgiveness.
Interestingly, Christians in the West generations ago used to focus on these public acts of contrition, forgiveness, and atonement to a much greater degree in public life than we do today.
Meanwhile the image of Japanese Samurai “falling on his sword” instead of Christian symbolism is used in the West now as a symbol of contrition.
That is, one admits that the path of one’s life has taken the Samurai an important junction where he must except his destiny.
The samurai’s act of justice and karma lead him in such mythology to take responsibility for his acts and/or crimes. He commits hari-kari and falls on his sword. In short, how he lives and how he dies are consequential events both publicly and as individuals. In this act of suicide, there was to be observed a unifying act connecting death and life (to be appreciated in this act of Shinto faith and culture of old Japan.)
For people of Christian and Abrahmic faiths, an added emphasis on forgiveness is made while ritual suicide is rejected. The same is true of other Abrahmic faiths, including Islam. [This is why the suicide killings and suicide bombings of so-called Islamic supporters of Al-Qaed-- or other fringe groups--in the Middle East or around the planet are not in line with what their faith actually teaches them.]In walking a Christian path in life, an act of atonement needs to be made prior to exit from life on this planet, so that new generations have the freedom to move on or regenerate and transform their world.
The word “atonement” is best understood by breaking the word into its three parts: “at-one-ment” : Atonement means to become one with God.
For Christians (Protestants more than Catholics) , announcing publicly that one has sinned and then publicly committing oneself to turning away from one path in life (leading to the same sins) is part of the at-one-ment (ATONEMENT) process.
Unlike the children of Suharto who have at least apologized for the sins of their father, many Americans who have supported and followed George W. Bush into military-, political-, judicial-, and economic debacles since he began his political career in Texas over 15 years ago have refuse apologize for the errors of their ways.
Until they step forward, apologize, and fall on their swords, America will not be able to face the facts created on the ground of these acts of bad leadership and dishonesty.
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