Kita Beda, Kita Sama

Comic version for anyone with slow internet connection.
There are video-exclusive contents though, haha.

Sorry that it's not made in English. Here's the translation (I'd be glad if anyone would pinpoint if I made any mistake):

We are Different, Yet We are One

There are one, two, three, many things that I don't understand.

About me who's been born this way,
about you who've been born that way,
about them who're always smiling,
about the world which is always on war,
and us who're supposed to be one.

It is said that the well-known Buddha and Shiva are two different substances.
They are indeed different, yet how is it possible to recognise their difference in a glance,
since the truth of Jina (Buddha)and the truth of Shiva is one.
They are indeed different, but they are of the same kind, as there is no duality in truth.

You and I are different,

but that doesn't mean that we can't be one.

After all, we have one homeland,

one nation,

one language:

Indonesia

This is a video based on a poem I made for civic education (?) class.

The third verse (the one with Buddha and Shiva) is quoted from Kakawin Sutasoma, canto 139, stanza 5. The stanza itself, talks about different religion tolerance in Majapahit empire. However, it has been applied as Indonesia's official motto since 1945. Indonesia has about 300 ethnic group, each of them has their own culture, custom, and even language. Cultural crash is supposed to be something that can't be avoided. But with this motto, we're expected to tolerate any difference.

Even so, in my everyday life, I still see people calling each other names--sometimes because of one's skin color, sometimes because of one's origin (kids from remote areas are more likely to be the target). This doesn't only happen in real life, but in social medias also--facebook, twitter, you name it. Bashing is something that one can do easily on the internet while staying anonymous. Maybe they say it jokingly, but who knows how much a mere "You black!" could hurt someone? What if this simple teasing grows into scary, extreme racism later? Doesn't big things start out as small?

Thus, I made this video. Not only for class, but also for me, and others too. I want to make people (especially Indonesian but not exclusively to Indonesian) realize how important it is to apply "Bhinneka Tunggal Ika" motto in life. To tolerate any differences, to accept others' quirk, to make a place where we can feel united in so much diversities we have. This sounds like an utopia, and the situation seems just right to say something cheesy. But since I can't think of anything cheesy, I'll just quote John F. Kennedy:

World peace, like community peace, does not require that each man love his neighbor -- it requires only that they live together with mutual tolerance, submitting their disputes to a just and peaceful settlement.

I learned so much thing when I made this project. Such as how EU and South-Africa have the same motto (I'm sorry, I'm not very confident with my common knowledge even though they're called common knowledge; don't worry I do have some common sense though) or how hard it is to make a comic. This sure was fun, and I'm hoping to do something like this again. I already have something on mind, but of course don't expect it to be finished soon. I'm a slow worker alright....

I'm going to end it here. Thank you for reading. This may be not the best you ever watch, but I sure am proud (not in bad way, I hope). I hope you like the video, just as much as I like it. :)

Credit:
Satu Nusa Satu Bangsa bgm guitar by Adrianto
Sang Merah Putih pic by bl3ss3d
Garuda image from google