Critical
thinking at this critical time
Carolyn
Baytion-Sunaryo ; Director for operations and programs at the GS
FAME, Institute of Business in East Jakarta
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JAKARTA
POST, 16 Juni 2014
The
moment of truth in the political arena is right before our very eyes. The
future of this country is in our hands, and what will become of it will
depend on what we do or don’t do today.
The mass
media and cyberspace are bombarding us with opinions, from anyone who wants
to share his/her views for anyone who cares to listen, and touting this or
that presidential candidate to vote for.
It is
difficult for ordinary people like us to judge an issue or to pinpoint who is
telling the truth because there are many sides to an issue and anyone can
present the truth depending on what the speakers want the public to believe.
This is the reason why we need to develop critical thinking so that we can
make the right decision.
Based on
a definition put forward by Moore and Parker (2001), we exercise critical
thinking when we carefully examine what is stated to be true and decide
whether or not we should accept it, and how confident we are in our
acceptance or rejection.
How many
of us spend time thinking about the statements uttered by our politicians? We
tend to immediately form opinions without much thinking, and this prevents us
from uncovering the truth. The decision that we make, not only in choosing
our country’s leaders but in work and in our personal lives as well, should
be backed up by evidence, otherwise it can lead to a wrong decision that may
have a disastrous effect on our life.
According
to Martin Luther King, Jr., the American civil rights leader, it is in school
that the skill of critical thinking is developed, alongside the development
of skills in reading and writing. It is important, then, for schools to
instill in their students the desire to seek out the facts to support one’s
opinion and to make good decisions.
In
school, there should be balance between the teaching of facts and stimulating
students to think. One can’t argue without facts, and facts are useless if
not used in decision-making. Some of us just come out with our opinions
without any basis.
We think
that if we are good at getting our argument across, without supporting it
with facts, that is enough.
So in
school, having to go through theories and find out and test their
applicability would be important to encourage students to develop their
skills in critical thinking.
Aside
from lecturers encouraging their students to openly air their opinions in
class, debates should also be held.
This
way, students would be trained to conduct research on a particular issue,
present their side of the issue and participate in a healthy exchange of
ideas.
If we
exercise critical thinking in choosing our president, what qualities do we
need to look for?
Chris
Lowney writes that the leadership principles that have guided the Jesuits
(male religious congregation of the Catholic Church) for more than 450 years
include four core pillars: self-awareness, ingenuity, love and heroism.
Only
leaders who possess both intelligence and character can adopt these four core
leadership pillars. Without intelligence, self awareness and ingenuity, they
would be difficult to achieve, and without character one would have
difficulty in being concerned about others and being passionate.
If we
exercise critical thinking in choosing our president, what would this leader
look like?
In
Lowney’s latest book on Pope Francis, the first Jesuit priest to become Pope,
he wrote that one of Francis’ many admirable qualities was remaining true to
who he really is. It takes courage to be who we really are, especially in
business and politics where appearance and worldly possessions are considered
more important than a person’s character.
Lowney
quoted the first black president of South Africa, Nelson Mandela: “My
greatest enemy was not those who put me in prison. It was myself. I was
afraid to be who I am.” I should confess that is my greatest fear, too.
I now
realize the heavy burden that we leaders have in remaining true to what we
are committed to doing for the good of our organizations — or for the
presidential candidates for the good of our country — because many people
tell us what kind of person we should be to be a good leader. When we become
what others want us to be, we have ceased to be a leader.
To
remain true to theselves, according to Lowney, the Jesuits have been trained
to make a habit of self-examination, which should also be applied to other
leaders so as to be able to lead with integrity and character.
As
leaders, we need to accept that we have weaknesses; and to function
effectively, we need to struggle every day to fight ourselves not to give in
to our impulses.
Being a
leader is a calling, like being called for the priesthood in the Catholic
religion. A leadership position is not to be sought; it will be bestowed upon
the right person at the right time.
When we
choose our leaders, we should choose one who knows that being a leader is to
serve. We have been shown by the examples of Mandela and Francis that being
true to oneself is the key, and that true leaders possess power, which in the
words of Pope Francis and as shown by his actions, “authentic power is
service”.
Let’s
stick to the facts when judging and scrutinizing our candidates’ platforms.
The real
winner in this upcoming presidential election will be the Indonesian people,
if and only if we exercise critical thinking. ●
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