Enjoy World Cup, presidential election Khairil Azhar  ;   A school consultant at the Sukma Foundation, Jakarta

JAKARTA POST,  17 Juni 2014

                                                

                                                                                         

                                                      

Following the first and second debates by the presidential candidates recently, certain pros and cons arose as expected. Worthy comments, prejudices and fine analysis certainly had their place. And the show looked to have given more meaning to the ongoing democratic festival. Over in Brazil, another, bigger, show has just kicked off. As our presidential race is, so the tournament is a struggle to be get to first place at any cost. Soccer matches and election campaigns to a certain extent share similar characteristics. Sentimentally, there is happiness and tears while practically there is strength, wit and strategy. Who will win then? It is actually not the most important question. Other people’s predictions, regardless of whoever makes them, despite being one of the very things to spice up any show, also often turn something sour. What really keeps us watching is an attachment to a side or curiosity to prove an individual hypothesis. As such, if you are supporting a candidate or are a fan of a team, winning or losing is actually not the only thing you are looking for. What makes you alive before and during a match is your own flowing mind interacting with the processes you are watching. So, a triumph or a defeat is just a climax or anticlimax. To help us enjoy the competitions better, both the World Cup and the presidential election, the following things might be worth bearing in mind. First, we must be ready to accept whatever the result is unless we are trying to make a sensation. What is read and understood, from which a conclusion is derived, might speak of the future. Dreams and support might be something for a successful campaign. Yet, history has its own way of getting made. So, if our candidates or team seem to lose or have lost the battle, there is absolutely no need to act badly. Instead, with better care and consciousness, things can potentially look clear and reassuring. And it will tell us better how and why a result comes about. Second, a result is predictable as long as there is sufficient supporting data and proper analysis and there is no “critical juncture” that decides a match awkwardly. As in so many in soccer matches, blunders play very significant roles in defeat. Once a turning point has been created, a lesser team can gain a shocking victory. Both in soccer and politics, taking a temporary lead often requires more psychological effort until the end of the game. And most of it relates to matters of confidence and alertness which can be seen through how comfortably the players play. Third, for a successful campaign, a team should assume that an opponent must have developed more creative and powerful strategies than before. So should the supporters. Watching a game without updated knowledge might cause more stress than expected. In politics, outdated knowledge can cause disillusionment if not relentless conflict. And as we frequently see nowadays, smear campaigns to some extent are because of ignorance of developing situations. So, study your team or candidate’s weaknesses and adjust your expectations. Fourth, to a great extent, we must realize that we are only spectators of the game although we might pray or cheer them on if we are in the stadium. The coach and players are the creators of their own fate. Whatever calls one makes then, you are merely a dissenting voice in a crowd of thousands. In the presidential election, we only have one vote or a few others if we successfully influence others to vote for our candidate. In other words, we are not as strong as we think. So, being a good follower will make the democracy game more valuable in the end. It is our candidates that determine much of what is to come. Fifth, as there will be other opportunities in the future, four or five years later, prepare yourself for them. We must believe that perfection in a team is always possible. Today a candidate loses, but there is a tomorrow if he is convinced in his path. In other words, both winning and losing teaches us lessons. Here, in our ongoing luxurious democratic process, involvement should make us think a step ahead when doing things politically. A close friend might suddenly become an unexpected “foe” this month. A relative or even a parent might have different choices in politics. Yet, is not this merely a blip in a four- or five-year cycle, which convincingly tells us of the existence of differences? And in politics we learn practically “there is no eternal enemy as well as there is no eternal ally.” This is simply because many things keep changing without necessarily being noticed. Therefore, welcoming the World Cup and our presidential election, let us believe that it is absolutely acceptable to dance with the winners if we lose and share our happy music with defeated opponents if we win. ●