Living in today’s world is way different from what anybody could have ever expected. News spread at the speed of light. Leaving a little room for arbitrage. Indeed, connecting every part of the world is argued to bring an enhancement to the people living in it.

Globalization is making every single part work together. Tom Friedman called it the Ten Flatteners. They are what makes us somewhat connected to everybody. Yes, all kind of people. Those who have access to anything. In another world inside the earth Facebook connects people; it smooths globalization. And as globalization advances further, are we going to show a stronger Indonsian identity or are we going to have the same face with other nations?

It’s true that some parts of the world are still untouched by this global force. But it’s only a matter of time. In one form or another, globalization is working its way there. And it surely has many ways.

And today’s globalization has somewhat similar impact as the earlier versions. The impact that Cristóbal Colón (known better as Christopher Columbus) never thought would happen again.

In ancient time, whether it was a peaceful trade or an effort to colonize, globalization brought along the culture of its people. Collision of powers and cultures of the visitors and the hosts were inevitable. And worse, one of the cultures eventually faded away.

Back to today’s world, the many signs of a way to our one-face are already seen almost everywhere. They are in technology, fashion, pop culture, and even food. More and more of us are using the same gadgets; we are moving to the latest technology faster than ever before. Fashion fever is globalizing, too, with Zara and Mango as some of its front liners. Our TV channels are flooded with nothing different than shows adopting westerns style and its infamous MTV. And our food- ironically- might be the force that will make us lose our identity. It’s undeniable that McDonald’s is not only sticking its flags around the world, but also deeper into its consumers.

And with a worry of being left out, some people try hard to be as updated with the global culture as possible. And when carrying our own authentic identity is felt burdensome, chances are our culture is working its way to leaving this country, and eventually this world. Reacting in an extreme way as a response to another country’s claim on our culture is not going to maintain our true identity. It, in contrary, shows that we are not safeguarding our identity well enough. Or perhaps it’s not only our identity, it’s a shared one- we know it’s ours. But isn’t it the point of this whole globalization process? We will eventually share a single culture. The Incas and Mayan people had never expected that they would have to speak Spanish today. Who knew that majority of people in South America is speaking Spanish and Portuguese now. But guess what, we all will share something similar, one way or another, soon or later. And when we must share that similarity, it means a lost of a lot of things.

The one-face has kicked off already in a form of International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS). This standard is a progress to make financial reporting more transparent, thus more reliable. The argument is that we are now in a globalized era with Multi National Corporations that have no loyalty to any nation as the big players. So, we need a system that makes it easier for every part in the world to connect. We need something standardized.

In the past, great agricultural systems that nourished the people of Aztec and Maya while at the same time were environmentally friendly (we call it the green technology today) disappeared. Look at what happens to once one of the agricultural systems Mexico, it has become Mexico City- one of the most polluted cities in the planet. The globalization forces from Europe were trying to eliminate indigenousity and make things their way.

Nothing will happen unless we do something. This buzz word is very hard to deny. If we do nothing but getting sucked into the progress that globalization promotes, we should not complain if in the future it kicks out butt hard. Globalization will force us to embrace something and leave the other. We might be enjoying something today and not ready for invasions that will cause us to lose some things that we were once proud of. Our trees, our lands, our culture, and even our people.

Professor Sergei Arutyunov the head of the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, on an article said, “On the other hand, if 20 languages disappear every year, then it means than 2,000 languages will vanish in a hundred years. ” Is any of Indonesian ethnic languages among them? We hope not.

So, are we gathering efforts to be stronger this globalized world? Or is it going to push us to the corner where we have no choice but to accept whatever it gives us? In another word, is this globalization going to make us more Indonesian or less Indonesian?

 

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