The Mobilized Grassroot

Assalamualaikum and nice to see you all…
What is coming up in your mind when somebody asks you what the white color deserves to symbolize for???? I am so sure that all the things emerging are about the sacred, the purity and the truth and something like that.
Fellow toastmasters and distinguished guests… now please imagine this condition… There was a war, both of the parties kept attacking each other, and after a couple of time……………………………………………….
(While simulating the hoisting white-flag)
one of them decided to hoist their white flag, signing the surrender……………………………………………………….
And after that the defeated party was on authorization of the winner, they were enslaved, they were imperialized and they lived in lost!!!!!!!!!
The condition above is just a sample explaining that the white color in certain case can be used also to symbolize inability to take action, surrender toward the condition and even despair.
Fellow toastmaster and distinguished guests….
Our statehood life is really in transformation era, and transformation itself involves change which will lead this state to be stable in politics, economics and culture fields. Nowadays, with all resources we have, this nation is in her way to prosper her citizens and many turbulences happened in the present times just come up as a challenge needed to be conquered to define herself as welfare state, with all prosperity and convenience provided for her societies.
Well, for this our beloved nation is in her way to transform, so that all the chaos and shortages are the risk needed to be faced, the efforts to change are conducted among the poverty, crisis, distrust but it doesn’t matter since many transformations begin with these things, or with a predicament.
Well, ladies and gentleman…
As we know, We are about to have general election for house of representatives and president in next April this year, this democratic event is one of the ways to realize the transformation we want to have. Even it is a little bit difficult to conduct due to the plague of despair among the society. Many societies nowadays are on their self-interest, they do not care about who will be chosen as their council and who will come up as the elected president later. They prefer to take action to become what known as “The White Group” . The White Group is a group or personal choosing not to vote for any candidates in general election. It is formed over the frustration toward all the candidates that are considered bad.
Based on data from the governor election administered in several provinces in 2008, the number of the white group voter just get bigger and bigger, for example in Middle Java, its amount reaches 49%, in West Java it is up to 35%, in North Sumatera until 43% residents decided not to vote. And even in Jakarta, the capital city of this nation, The number of white group voter reach 39%. What a worrying fact.

Fellow Toastmasters and distinguished guests….
Let me outline the reasons causing people prefer to be white group voter:
- There are no candidates fit their expectation, in their opinion it will be useless to vote for those who are not really in line in vision and mission with them, it will bring no change to be better by choosing that kind of person, they thought.
- There is a certain pride to be white group voter, it is considered sacred, yes.. white meaning sacred is a pride thing, it motivates them to stay not to vote, they will not feel guilty when they make no vote to any of the candidates, even they will be happy not choosing person they considered not good.
- Frustration and Skepticism, they are frustrated in facing any opportunities to be better, they prefer live in status quo, with no movement to the better future, since they lost their hope, and they just become skeptical when talking about every single hope arises.
Those who decide to be the white group voters are giving up to the situation, they are hopeless, they are unable to make even a little change, they neglect their valuable suffrage. But in fact in the deepest on their heart they are yielding a change, but it must be impossible to bring about that if they remain passive….
Ladies and gentleman….
The change we hope for so long will not come from itself, it is created and it deserves to struggle for, we cannot pass a judge to our national political leader and think of them as troublemaker or even a culprit. If we want to have a better condition in our statehood life, we just need to be proactive and participate on democratic party which we are about to have several months from now on. Just do a vote for candidates you may expect to bring about change, and the essential thing is they will not be able to make a change without your willingness to change, because the change doesn’t come from the top, but it comes from the mobilized grass root, and I am sure all of us here are the mobilized grass root loving this nation…
Back to TOM…
Wassalamualaikum…