Uncle Sam’s place in Indonesians’ hearts

Published on The Jakarta Post:http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2013/08/22/uncle-sam-s-place-indonesians-hearts.html

If we were to judge Indonesians’ opinion of the United States based on what the political elites say or the media relates, very likely we would arrive at a bleak conclusion. The US is often portrayed as an evil country that interferes in Indonesia’s domestic affairs.

Examples of this are abundant. The elites of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) argue that the corruption charge leveled at the party’s former president is a conspiracy stirred up by Jews and the US. In regard to Papua’s independence, some cannot refrain from believing that the US wants Papua to gain independence, although former US ambassador Scot Marciel has already stated that Papua is part of Indonesia.

Talking about US conspiracies, it seems one must surely mention accusations by some radical groups that Indonesia’s war on terrorism is nothing but an extension of the US’ war on Islam. “Why are captured or killed terrorists all Muslims?” the groups ask.

Interestingly, despite the evil portrayal of Uncle Sam, a recent survey by Pew’s Global Attitudes Project paints a different picture. The study shows that Indonesia actually has relatively favorable attitudes toward the US. For example, 61 percent of Indonesian respondents said they had a positive image of the US. That ranks Indonesia 22nd out of 39 countries surveyed—much higher than Turkey, Palestine, Egypt, Jordan or Pakistan, which occupy the bottom five.

Another question, whether respondents saw the US as a partner of Indonesia, 46 percent answered that the US was indeed a partner with only 6 percent saying it was an enemy.

In that regard, Indonesia ranked 24th out of 37 countries surveyed. Senegal (84 percent, 3rd) and Malaysia (59 percent, 20th) are the only Muslim-majority countries that have higher rankings.

The positive opinions, however, do not mean that Indonesians agree with all US actions. In regard to drone strikes, for example, only 8 percent of respondents said they were acceptable. That is as low as other Muslim-majority countries’ acceptance rates, such as Turkey (7 percent), Pakistan (5 percent), and Palestine (3 percent).

About 74 percent of participants also believed that the US exerts a great or fair amount of influence in Indonesia’s affairs. How was it possible then, that the world’s largest Muslim-majority country, which disagrees with drone strikes — which obviously kill mostly Muslims — still has relatively positive views of a country that not only is the main user of drone strikes main but which is also perceived as influencing its affairs?

Other questions in the survey offer at least two explanations. The first explanation is that Indonesians like the US despite hating drone strikes because they believe the US considers Indonesian interests when making policy decisions. Fifty-two percent of respondents said the US considers Indonesian interests. From this perspective, the US seems to be an understanding country.

The second explanation is more of a self-reflection. The disapproval of drone strikes and anti-US political rhetoric fail to generate negative sentiments toward Uncle Sam not because he is nice, but because Indonesians are first of all occupied with the seemingly wrong direction of their own country. About 69 percent and 62 percent of respondents respectively said they were dissatisfied with where Indonesia was heading and the country’s economic situation.

Based on this perspective, anti-US discourse by some of our politicians is viewed as nothing but an effort to distract people from the real problem, which is bad internal management. The positive image of the US held by ordinary citizens can therefore be seen as the people’s way of saying, “Stop scapegoating. We are not buying it”.

As much as Indonesians’ positive image of the US tells Indonesian politicians to stop blaming others for our own failures, it also sends a message to the US, which reads “Let’s understand each other better.” In the late 1980s, the US lost Afghanistan to the mujaheeden because it thought that all it would take for the two to be friends happily ever after would be to provide Afghans with enough weapons to oust the Soviets.

The US could lose Indonesia too, the world’s largest Muslim-majority country and third-largest democracy, if it thinks all that matters is economic cooperation. Given Indonesia’s great income inequality, economic assistance is pretty much unlikely to touch the average Indonesians’ lives. More important than the economy, the US needs to build cultural bridges, especially with the Muslim population.

Although having failed at times, Indonesia has been trying to show that Islam is compatible with democracy. As a mature democracy, the US also needs to show that democracy is indeed compatible with Islam.

It needs to show that democracy does not mean abandoning religion, or embracing chaos or hedonism. It has to work harder to show that the US in particular and democracies in general are not the enemy of Islam.

Uncle Sam’s present place in Indonesians’ hearts must not be taken as a sign that the US is doing well. Instead, it needs to be read as Indonesians opening their arms to the US for a better relationship in the future.

The writer is a doctoral student in American politics at the University of Notre Dame and former summer analyst at Barack Obama’s 2012 presidential campaign headquarters.