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Intellectual solidarity in the face of political injustice
History teaches us that in all authoritarian regimes, it is the army, police and other legal enforcement agencies, who do the evil works of arbitrary leaders to help establish a dictatorial and inhumane regime.
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A group of lecturers, alumni and students of Gadjah Mada University gather at the university campus on Jan. 31, 2024 to express their concern about President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s intervention in the election process, which they say is a threat to democracy. (Kompas)
Albert Einstein once said that the “world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing”.
He was commenting in admiration on the globally known Spanish cellist, composer and conductor, Pablo Casals, who publicly said he would never perform his musical works in countries that offered support to the dictatorial regime of Francisco Franco in Spain in the 1950s.
What is interesting here is that a musician’s unshaken moral attitude to not compromise on a dictator’s abuse of power caught a physicist’s attention and his own sense of urgency to make a public statement about the need for concrete intellectual solidarity based on firm moral values in dealing with arbitrary power.
Casals and Einstein remind us that it is the silence, inaction and indifference of those who influence society, such as intellectuals, musicians and other public figures in the face of the abuse of power that destroys democracy, justice and the rule of law.
A passive attitude will mean compromising with evil and will contribute to the destruction of our society. Therefore, it is not only the holders of arbitrary power, but also those who witness injustice but do nothing, or simply stand by, who are also accountable for the destructive impacts that may arise.
As a musician and a scientist, Casals and Einstein emphasize the urgency for taking a moral stand and active engagement to work for constructive change that serves the common good of society.
These last few days such a sense of urgency finds its expression in the voices of professors and academic communities from multiple universities across this country. In the face of political injustice due to the misuse of power, inconsistency of leadership and a manipulative process of the presidential election, they call for the return of morality, transparency and honesty in our political processes.
