Jennie M. Xue

Generation X, Y, and leadership

by Jennie S. Bev

Indonesia's 2009 presidential election campaign promises to be exciting for Indonesians and the world. Unlike the two previous post-Soeharto elections, dominated by Baby Boomer candidates who eventually won, candidates from Generation X will actively participate this time around, including Rizal Mallarangeng and Fadjroel Rachman --to name two early birds.

Generation X consists of those born sometime between 1965 and 1982. While perhaps guilty of overgeneralizing, many social psychologists consider X the conscientious, hardworking and politically conscious generation, known for their skepticism toward government and lack of trust in leadership.

That Generation Xers experienced both the Cold War --with its constant threat of nuclear annihilation-- and the onset of AIDS --the most fearsome disease of their time-- might help explain these traits.

Indonesia in food, fuel, and compassion crises

by Jennie S. Bev

I live in Northern California, considered one of the wealthiest regions in the United States, where the global intellectual hub of Silicon Valley neighbors the panoramic San Francisco Bay area and where luminaries like Larry Page and Sergey Brin (the “Google Guys”), writer Amy Tan, and comedian Robin Williams call home. Here, millionaires oftentimes still go to work and live in cramped houses due to skyrocketing housing prices. A decent dim sum meal costs at least $20 per person and a modest one-bedroom apartment rental costs about $1,500 per month. A dollar can probably buy you one can of soda in a deli, but not in a movie theater, where it might be four times as much.

While homelessness is an ongoing and often stagnant issue in downtown San Francisco, 8,675 miles across the Pacific Ocean in Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia, 23 million people live packed into 290 square miles - extreme poverty is an everyday sight. Amongst Jalan Thamrin skyscrapers, slums weave through the city with their cardboard huts, stinky sewers, and annual floods. The haves and have-nots live side-by-side, oftentimes even sharing the same wall. A few of the privileged dine at five-star hotels, while those selling cigarettes and magazines on foot must live with a mere $2 per day, or even less.

What a contrast. What a divided world we live in.

Citizen diplomacy and cross-cultural pollination

by Jennie S. Bev

Post Sept. 11, the world is getting more polarized and more religious as well as anti-religious. This tiny blue planet is getting more divided and Indonesia is no exception. It is a reality check to acknowledge, to reflect and to act upon. It is true that we do not live in a utopia, but we certainly can do our best, no matter how small, to bridge differences and to develop better understanding between each other.

It might sound aggrandizing to say: Let's make the world a better place, one breath at a time. But it is, contrary to unpopular belief, doable. By you and me.

Mother Teresa of Calcutta once said, "We do no great things, only small things with great love."