• Manula Tuna Wisma

    Buat yang tinggal di Los Angeles atau kota-kota lain di California–atau di Amerika secara umum, menyaksikan orang-orang tuna wisma berkeliaran hampir di setiap sudut kota bukanlah hal aneh. Sampai saking seringnya, perasaan dan hati kita sepertinya sudah kelu. Tak ada lagi iba seperti pertama kali melihat mereka. Empat tahun lalu, ketika saya baru saja mendarat di Los Angeles dan tinggal di komplek perumahan mahasiswa UCLA sementara di kawasan Westwood, saya kaget luar biasa melihat pra tuna wisma menggelar lapak untuk bermalam, tak lama setelah hari mulai gelap. Keberadaan mereka sangat berbeda dengan gemerlap dan kemewahaan toko-toko dan bangunan di sekitarnya. Kawasan tempat saya tinggal saat itu termasuk…

  • Democracy is in danger?

    We are probably worried too much recently. He is a liar anyway. So don’t take his mouth seriously. But still, if the boaster and the liar are the ones who hold the highest position in the most powerful and rich nation, we must worry about what would happen. And that feeling has grown to be anxiety yesterday after I saw that ‘sh*t show,’ to quote a commentator on cable news. Look, I am coming from a so-called ‘the third-world’ country. Indonesia just started its democracy in 1999. Very young if you compare it to the US. But still, I never see this kind of presidential debate back…