Dear readers, today let me share a little bit about reading culture. Why I bring this topic into the material for today’s posting, the reason is because reading is a crucial thing to do if we want to get the better future. Frankly, I sometimes feel despondent to see my fellow teachers so lazy to read. What can we hope from such teachers!
Let’s learn from Japanese people. 
We know how amazing Japanese people are in their reading culture. Wherever they are, in the airport, parks, on the bus, subway, or in waiting rooms, etc, they are busy with their reading activities. Their love for knowledge, science, information and education on the whole deserves to be taken as role model.
People say when they were defeated in the World War II, when the only thing left was just heap of rubble because of the bomb struck Hiroshima and Nagasaki, when this cherry country was mourning, the emperor Hirohito immediately asked the center of Nippon information, “How many teachers are still alive?”
Imagine, Hirohito did not ask the number of soldiers they had, the fighters, which could still be flown, the warships, which were still seaworthy, or the ammunitions which could be fired, but again, what came out from the emperor’s mouth at that time was, “How many teachers still alive?” Wow, amazing, right?
This is the measurement how well they are aware about the importance of the education for a nation. No wonder we can see how great Japan is now. Due to their education is more quality than others and also spread evenly throughout their nation. Thus it makes their country very independent. They do not depend themselves too much on other countries. On the contrary, many countries, including ours, ask them to be our “shepherd”, almost in all aspects of life, from the infrastructure, vehicles, to the goods products such as computers, games, cosmetics, cell phones, even comic books for children.
We and many other countries in Asia and Africa are really sincere to be sheep driven here and there. Ah, wake up my nation! Wake up my country! … ♫♪Indonesia Raya!.....♫♪♫ Merdeka!! Merdeka!!...♪♫♫Tanahku, negeriku yang kucinta!!!!...♪♫
Books are the resources of knowledge.
This cherry nation, if we see from the number of books published annually, ranks the first position in Asia, and ranks the third in the world, after United Kingdom and Germany. According to the International Publisher Association Canada, in 2000, United Kingdom published about 110,155 titles of books and placed the first rank. The second was Germany with 80,779 titles. Then, the third rank was Japan with 65,430 titles, and United State held the fourth.
In 1997, Indonesia produced around 5,000 titles of books, but in 2002, noted only around 2,700 titles. Just for a comparison, Malaysia – with a population of 23,522,484 in 2004, and Indonesia with 238,452,952 people in the same year, so only around ten percent of our population – had published 15,000 titles annually. We are still far left behind in book publishing. Why is it so? Any comment?
This big nation should learn from Japan and other modern countries in the reading culture, if we want to catch up with them. Due to the essence of this temporary life is nothing but continuous learning. This is a core of our life journey, never ending improvement so that we can be better from day to day before the death comes.
This is human nature. It is our nature as a human being, the main purpose of our existence in the world. Have you learned and read today? Yes, at least you have read this posting. It is a great thing, my friends! Most people read only 5 or 6 lines, then they give up! Again, congratulations you have read so far!
According to the newest report of some world organization that Indonesia (the 4th biggest population, After China, India and US) is placed rank 39 in reading interest out of 41 countries researched. It means that there are only two countries behind us. What a shame!
It is the fact, which should be made us stimulated to improve our love toward reading. Since just through the reading quality books, we can bring this country to a better future, a richer and more quality life. I agree with Tantowi Yahya, an Indonesian reading envoy, he advised, “Someone who never read is someone who does not know much, someone who does not know much is so close to the stupidity, and the stupidity is so close to the poverty.” In line with what he said, there is also a Chinese philosophy that runs, “Through reading the poor can become rich, and also through reading, the rich can become elegant”
This is actually a secret. It is not human’s secret, but it is infact the secret of God! Do you know what the first word uttered by Allah S.w.t to our prophet Mohammad SAW? Yes, you are correct. God said “Iqro!” (read!). In your opinion what He ordered to read? What? The holy Qur’an? Sorry, you missed this time. At that time the holy Qur’an did not exist yet, as it was the first verse uttered.
So what? Any other idea? What?? Yes, now you are right. The God commands us to read anything, which is good, not only for ourselves, but also for others. We are asked to read the nature and any sign the God sent. We are ordered to learn through the universe. Learn from everything that God has created, from the world. So simply read any good thing, then our life and the quality of living will turn into the better one.
Okay, my friends, let’s read as many books as possible start from now on. Promise?
Singapore, We, and Thankful
Now, let us fly a moment to Singapore. It is a city country with the small number of people, even smaller than the population of South Sumatran province (in 2004, The population of Singapore was estimated at 4,353,893, meanwhile, South Sumatran population was more than 6, 6 million).
I do not have a special story about this country, but once when I intended to buy a book there, in Kinokuniya bookstore on Orchard Road, (this is a street, which is very important as a shopping tourist area in this small and modern country), I was so amazed to see so many people stand in line to the cashier to pay for the books they would buy. I never see such enthusiastic people in books. Even it can not be compared to the buyers in Gramedia bookstore on Matraman Jakarta (the biggest bookstore in Indonesia).
No need to compare with bookstores in a smaller city. Only two or three people stand in line to buy books, even they do not need to stand in line at all because they can be treated at the same time with two or three cashiers. What can we infer from this tendency?
Why? Is it because we do not have money? Or we still prioritize other things first? A stomach need, for instance? This is a common reason we often hear. Stomach, stomach and stomach! (Ironically, when they come up with this excuse, they just had a meal) Or is it because we do not realize how important the role of knowledge is in our life as intellectual creatures?
Believe it or not, the book should be put as the first priority if we think for a better future, if we want to upgrade our self-quality, if we want to see this nation awakening! If we want to see this republic becomes a great and elegant country! (Apart from whether we buy or borrow them).
Stop thinking only in the physical level, short, superficial, and narrow. It is just as long as physical needs, simply materialism fulfillment. Do you know a wise saying, “Do not give a person a fish, but give him a fishing rod”? This is also applied to our personal life. Provide ourselves with a quality to live a better and meaningful life. Try to switch our mind to a higher level, to intellectual, emotional, or even spiritual level. Any comment?
Perhaps, if we are asked to choose buying pempek (actually, we are not hungry), or buying a book, with the same price, Rp. 25,000, which one do we choose? Or we will not buy either, as we decide to buy bakso (soup with meatballs), pizza or fried chicken; even in doing that, we have to pay some extra ten thousand! Ah, it is definitely for you to decide! Or in other case, if someone is asked to choose reading a ‘nutritious’ book or watching an infotainment which shows a skeleton in the closet of others, which one will he choose? What do you say?
What we choose will determine what we'll get tomorrow! Undoubtedly, the greatness of Japan now (after being completely crushed due the World War II, August 15, 1945), the astounding advancement of Singapore at present (Just get its independence on August 1965), or the amazing progress of the South Korea as we can see nowadays (after dragging their country to awaken due to the crisis they experienced as the impact of civil war from June 25, 1950 to July 27, 1953), these all are because of the right choices they made in the past, the choices that drove them to the present achievements, to a better condition, to a modern and meaningful life they get now.
The facts above make me ponder and wonder, what on earth happens in my country? Why is it so difficult for us to choose something more constructive? Why is this big nation willing to be overwhelmed by the situation? As if we got high on a moment and false pleasure. Ah, I feel it is so bizarre! Any comment!
Mahatma Gandhi [October, 2, 1869- January 3, 1948] once said, “Keep your thoughts positive because your thoughts become your words. Keep your words positive because your words become your behaviors. Keep your behaviors positive because your behaviors become your habits. Keep your habits positive because your habits become your values. Keep your values positive because your values become your destiny.”
What Mahatma Gandhi said above seems to get influence a lot from the ideas of Ralph Waldo Emerson [May 25, 1803 – April 27, 1882], similar with Gandhi’s remarks , Emerson adviced us, “Sow a thought and you reap an act; Sow an act and you reap a habit; Sow a habit and you reap a character; Sow a character and you reap a destiny.”
