Five years ago, I was peacefully sleeping on a Sunday morning when I was woken up by my roommate at that time, a good friend, Yuri Birchwood. "Wake up man, something's up at the towers," he said to my ear. I lazily opened my eyes and asked, "What?" He shrugged and said, "Plane, apparently."

So off I went to his 16^th floor balcony of a red-brick apartment building in Stuyvesant Town, Lower East Side. This particular balcony of his faced down town, where the twin towers were.  I sat down, had coffee, smoked a cigarette, and proceeded to chuckle and joke merrily at the stupidity of the pilot who managed to drive his plane into one of the largest, most recognized buildings in the world. It was a typical scene of two jaded New Yorkers having breakfast while watching catastrophe unfold.

Needless to say, our merriment ended the moment the second aircraft hit the building. We just sort of looked at each other and whispered, "Shit." It was 11 September 2001. 9/11.

From that moment on, the numbers "9/11" became an iconic symbol of tragedy, terror, and hate. Of courage and sacrifice. Of professionalism. Most of all, 9/11 symbolizes change. The moment that second plane impacted, I knew I was looking at a deliberate attack. I knew that thousands would probably die (although I didn't know that the towers would collapse), and most profoundly, I knew that the world I lived in would never be the same again. I realized that moment that I was looking at the opening shots of World War III.

That was five years ago. The shock of the event is gone for me, although perhaps not so for the families of those who died. But something still lingers. That profound sadness I felt. For the victims, of course, but also for the future. After the fall of the Soviet Union, everyone thought that the world would at least be more peaceful. No more super blocks ready to lob ballistic missiles at each other. The threat of World War III all but faded away, and what wars still to be fought would be localized. In Africa, perhaps, or the Middle East between the Arabs and the Israelis. But that Sunday morning changed everything.

So, what changed? Where are we now, five years from that dreadful day? The BBC ran a little interesting commentary, interviewing people's points of view about the changes that happened around them. One interesting quote came from Ziauddin Sardar, a London-based writer and academic. A couple interesting quotes from his viewpoint said,"… Muslims have been looking at their faith much more critically and asking which tenets of Islam are axiomatic, and which can be changed or reformed..." These tenets include, "…issues such as the meaning and significance of the Sharia in the 21st century are now being seriously examined. Also the desirability of a theocratic "Islamic state" - the dominant idea of the late 20th century - is being questioned." A particularly interesting comment ran as follows, "…should the authority for reinterpretation of the Koran for contemporary times be limited to a handful of scholars or should it be democratized?"

The above mentioned sentiment, undoubtedly, leads to some reflections. The 'questioning Muslim' in my view, is a utopian dream that had not appeared, least of all after 9/11. I myself used to defend Islam. When anti-Islam sentiments arose, I used to say, "It's not the religion, it's the people that's at fault." My favorite defense came in the form of an explanation. "My country's Islam is different. Our brand of Islam is tolerant. We do not reject diversity, we embrace it. We embrace all people under the sun as neighbors." That particular defense, and all other like it as well as any other defenses are now rendered hollow by the actions of Muslims themselves. When the BBC ran several footages of Muslims in Palestine as well as Java exulting and celebrating the attacks, I found myself, for the first time, ashamed that I was once part of those people.

After 9/11, Islam revealed itself, or perhaps found itself, to be the enemy. Muslim governments around the world sent in their condolences and condemnations of the attacks, only to have their efforts dashed by throngs of Muslims celebrating the deaths of almost 3,000 people openly in the streets. The division of cultures became more profound. The stretched relationship that existed previously in several European countries (mostly due to the inability, or rather the unwillingness, of the Muslim immigrant societies there to blend in with the rest of the country) reached their flaming point.

Indeed Muslims seem to revel in this radicalism. Indonesia, for the longest time the bastion of moderate Islam, revealed herself to be in the clutches of Talibanization, with the MUI rejecting, and even issuing a fatwa condemning, pluralism and relativism. Gangs of roving Muslims roam the cities with impunity. Administering their own sharia justice, to whomever they choose, with their own subjective views. 9/11 did not cause the Muslims to reevaluate their faith in the scripture and the words of the local mullahs, it merely strengthened it to the point of radicalism.

Interestingly enough, the other side went through some changes as well. In some ways, they are eerily similar. The United States, for instance, under the Patriot Act, banned demonstrations against the President except in designated 'free-speech zones.' The patriot act also allowed the surveillance of the individual citizens that were suspected of 'endangering national security.' The fanaticism and radicalization of the Right Wing in the U.S. was profound, at least for the first 3-4 years after 9/11. Nowadays, thankfully, progressive elements had begun to take over. But the changes remain. In the Western world, Islam is seen to be an evil shadow looming over the freedom of free-thinking people. In the Islamic world, the West is despised with more vehemence, due to their actions in Afghanistan (which I support to this date) and in Iraq (which is a cluster-fuck on Bush's side).

All of a sudden, people like me, my friends, most everyone else, found ourselves in a war. The latest 'Great War'.  World War III is finally here. Unlike the fears of the cold war, where it was assumed that WWIII would be fought in conventional battles with nations lobbing nuclear bombs at each other, this war is fought in the mind most of all, with the battles, the bombs, and the victims serving mostly as interesting side-notes. It's a gigantic clash of ideas.

The traditional lines of separation were shredded to pieces. Lines of race and skin color, for instance, gave way to a great division by ideology. A clash, I fear, that will never end. Ideas could very rarely be eradicated.

Five years on, we found ourselves desperately trying to survive, to remain free, in a world that is progressively anti-freedom. The clash brought about by the right wings of both sides caused compromises in the basic freedom and decency of humanity. 9/11 seemed to teach humanity no other lessons but continued violence and the need to survive by any means. The old ideas of utopian pluralism and acceptance, even peaceful coexistence, were dashed against the hard rock of radicalism and totalitarianism. The prevalent sense of 'us' and 'them' had never been more pronounced.

Now, thoughts are even regulated. It is sinful, for instance, to think in 'certain ways'. It is unpatriotic to question the government. It is anti Islam to question the cleric and the jihad.

The above mentioned sentiment of Mr. Sardar's does not seem to happen at all. Interpretation of scripture and national creeds seemed to be more and more firmly the exclusive rights of a few individuals who had taken upon themselves to think for the rest of humanity. With us being told to just do what we were told. The tenets of freedom were being scoffed as 'western and kaffir' by the Muslims, and 'unpatriotic' by the Americans. To speak one's mind was 'unprofitable', 'unethical', and 'unacceptable'. 9/11 hardened the radicals and softened the progressives. Creativity is dead, replaced by fear. Individuality was killed, replaced by the collective dream. Children were born to slavery without their parents even knowing what they've done. Humanity is more divided now, than ever before, albeit in larger groups.

And we continue in our daily lives, oblivious, working for our cash, our dreams, not knowing that those dreams had ended before we even began. And most of us refused to fight, choosing merely to be silent and safe. 'Moderate' Muslims spewed forth their disagreement with the ways of the radicals, and yet never do anything real to stop them. Activists and 'freedom loving people' supported decidedly tyrannical methods in the name of 'national security'. As a species, we're dying.

9/11 had brought the best of humanity, followed closely by the worst. It taught no lessons, gave no wisdom, left no lasting legacy other than hatred. The dreadful day continued to this day. And the war does not end. Both sides are winning, we are losing.

 First, an explanation is in order.

For those of you who were waiting for the continuation of Abbas and the Souk, I'm sorry to say, its never going to come. With my busy schedule and everything else I have to do, I just don't have as much time to blog anymore. So, instead of having to wait weeks and weeks, its just going to be taken away and replaced with this, a more straightforward entry.

Abbas and the souk was supposed to be a critique of the modern retailer. More specifically, Carrefour. We all know how it is, we've all been there to shop and marvel at the cheap prices they charge us. Needless to say, the French retailer is now the number one retailer in Indonesia. Sure, being number one is cool and all, but how did it become number one?

To those of you who lived abroad, like the U.S. for example, you should be pretty familiar with Walmart. Yes, Walmart, the place where, in one stop, you could pick up something as mundane as your groceries, as nifty as a foot-rest equipped, multi-cup-holder lawn chair, and as interesting, if deadly, as a HK USP .45. However, you might also notice that you ain't gonna find no Walmart in the middle of a city. Nope, y'all gonna have to go out to the boondocks to get them goodies. Simply put, Walmart does not build their outlets within urban centers.

Now the reason for that is that Walmart is a major retailer. It sells huge amount of goods, thus being able to sell at lower prices. Alot of its customers are either people who live in really small towns with no supermarkets of its own, thus they're willing to travel a bit to get everything they need in one go, or people who buy wholesale for their own little bodegas or small supermarket.

Four years I spent in the U.S. and the largest supermarket I've been to in a city was the local Tops. About the size of your local Hero. Not so here in good ol' Indonesia. Ethics dictate that such wholesaler or major retailer should open far away from the city. The reason is that the government forbids these stores to open, to prevent the death of the small retailers. See, in major urban centers, cities, space is sparse. It is precious. Most importantly, it is expensive. The pace of the city's occupants usually prevents them from browsing leisurely at shelf after shelf of goods. They want to go in, pick up what they need, and leave. Considering these two factors, well, retailers tend to be small and efficient. Your local warungs for instance. They stock only the goods that are most popular, with some retailers giving you the option of ordering unsual goods. So, they stock less, with less variety.

Because of that, small retailers could not give the ridiculous discounts Carrefour gives out. Nor could they afford to engage in partnerships with large banks like Citibank. We will get to this later. So, their prices are good, but not very cheap. In return they give you time. They have your specific needs, and you get to spend less time browsing, thus being able to use your time more efficiently.

Carrefour Indonesia, on the other hand, does it differently. My father is a supplier see, so he told me alot about these people. Carrefour charges suppliers, like my father, a ridiculous amount of money, called 'listing fee', just to have their goods displayed on their shelves. Other practices were mentioned in that last link too. If you study it carefuly, you could see the nature of the retailer.

Most recently, Carrefour, in cahoots with Citibank, were charged with dumping. They gave out discounts for consumer goods, more than any small retailer could provide. It seems that they were bent to kill the small retailers. Now of course, with the above mentioned reason, of course smaller retailers could not afford such discounts. Their businesses would be swept aside. Thus, Carrefour's conduct was unethical.

If you care to re-read the first part of 'Masks of gold', you'll notice that the censors had finally visited my little blog. Ok..ok..I censored them myself. The reason you ask? Well, apparently I may not..err..deface..so to speak, the people I speak of.

In any case, I value my job since its the only way I could get money. Without money, no school, no food, no...everything. Unfortunate, I know. But there it is. Not to worry, comrades. There are other ways.

Be that as it may, I do humbly apologize. Not to the censored parts, but to you, my dear readers. And to the world. It seems that I have to take the path...less taken. 

I refuse to be bound by anything save my faith, my morals, or ethics, or principles, and the laws of this physical universe that we exist in. I refuse to abide by laws and regulations established by a government that I did not choose, doctrines and rituals of religions created by men, traditions and rules fabricated by a society who had fallen from grace.

- Ivan Aliwarga.

Take heart, friends. Here's a good man who came up with the perfect way to sum up a better existence.

Apparently

If you do not know this already, I work for a CENSORED. It is called CENSORED. Everyday we CENSORED for our various CENSORED. And yes, I am well paid.

My job is not what I'm about to talk about, actually, although it does have some connection to the topic. As always, I'm about to talk about humanity.

One our client is CENSORED. Of course, most of you already know what company it is, but for you who do not, the above mentioned is one of Indonesia's largest cigarette manufacturer, now owned by CENSORED, the people who makes CENSORED. Today, an order came for me. Make a CENSORED of a couple of CENSORED for company. These are what I am about to talk about.

CENSORED recently made a huge publication about the fact that it had allocated CENSORED to 'help CENSORED in CENSORED' out of their 'concern for the CENSORED'. Oooh..aaahhh..how noble. At a glance, this is a very generous gesture and deserves our applause. However, I ask you to see beyond it.

This action, I meant the publicity, begs the question: do you help your fellow human in need because you want to? Because you feel that you could and should do that? Or is it to boost one's sales and profit? If a corporation is so benevolent that it donates a large amount of money for the 'sake of the victims', why does it need to publicize it? What for? Is it to bask in the light of its own kindness? To be able to pat yourself in the back and say, "Good job. Now everyone know how kind we are?"

It is disgusting to see that humanity is now reduced to a mere calculation of profit. Charity degraded to a mere assessment of CENSORED.

By and large, the company is not the only guilty party. CENSORED, another client of ours, has a CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility..heh..have you ever heard such bullshit?) program aimed for CENSORED. They will fund CENSORED. These CENSORED need to submit proposals about how they plan to go about this lofty goal. Do they really care? Do they really give a damn about the CENSORED? About the CENSORED? While most of their children go to high-end schools such as High-Scope, Global School, and the like.

Public relations, really, is about informing the public 'only those selected facts that their corporate masters wish the public to know', while at the same time trying to silence others who say otherwise by counter-accusations and more propaganda. Sure, we all know that. But what is the limit? Is it ethical to use disasters and the death of thousands as an advertisement? As a tool to sell more and more, gain more and more? When is it ever enough? When has it ever cross the line?

This is what our species has become. A collection of shallow interests and greed masked as benevolence and faith. I'm right at the thick of it, trying to make a change. I don't think that'll happen anytime soon. My deepest apologies, comrades.