The Ballad of Surnames

I think it was circa 2005 that I was really disturbed by the use of surnames. The hypothesis is: the more prominent your family is, the higher the probability you would use your family's surname. It really contaminated the idea for me at that time.

But it turned out, I thought to myself 5 years later, the surname is merely a symbol. It's when the prominence of your surname overshadows your own contribution that it becomes an issue. It would appear, then, in these situations, that the offsprings are riding on the coat tails of their forefathers. But when you speak for yourself, despite the name behind your own - I found myself less concerned.

Anies Baswedan. Najwa Shihab. To name a few. They are themselves, despite the surname they carry. The consistency of their work and how it reflects their character stirred me away from what both of their families have accomplished*.

So I guess symbols are idiosyncratic, if you will. And, like anything else in life, intentions are what matters. And that, is not for me to judge.

But just to play it safe, I don't keep a surname.

*Come to think of it, it could also be related to the fact that they come from a line of intellectuals. Perhaps families of businessmen would exemplify another trend.

Sederhana

Kebaikan terbaik adalah kebaikan yang disembunyikan oleh pelakunya,
yang dinilainya kecil serta yang secepatnya dilakukan.

Quraish Shihab

Politics vs Spiritualism

I've been following the tweets of several (Islamic) religious leaders in Indonesia, from different schools of thoughts, and I've come to several presumptions based on my observation.

There are religous leaders followed for their political prowess. Having a huge mass following is one of the characteristics. They could be liberal or conservative but almost always monolithic and clearly oppositional to the other stance. More often than not, they attack the other party's argumentative weaknesses (I assume to win more following).

And there are religious leaders who are similar to spiritual leaders. Who simply remind other people to do good. They are not angry. They do not oppose. They speak of the moral ambiguity and often return ideas back to those with questions. That religion, spritualism, is a journey - not a label.

It's kind of obvious which type of religious leader I follow with my heart (not for observation's sake). Isn't it?