Weltanschauung

They taught me this term in one of my psychology class. Even then, it was a very interesting concept. Roughly, it means one's view of the world. It could also refer to a collective (community or society) perception of the world. It is related to German philosophy and epistemology and refers to a wide world perception. Deep stuff?

If we really think about it, everyone has a view of the world, his or her perception of what is and what is not and how the world works. But not everyone has the same view. We even may have similar if not the same view on a particular aspect of the world, but never the whole.

 

Rinto Harahap's song Aku Begini, Kau Begitu sung by Lucky Octavian is a depiction of a changing world view for our culture. In the old days, they would have sang it as Kanda begini, Dinda begitu.

The prevalent use of aku and kau is embedded in the everyday conversations of Indonesians and Malaysians despite the historical usage of the terms being labelled as bahasa kasar (impolite.) It is similar to the Spanish use of Usted and Tu. While some explain the difference as formal and informal, the real difference is dependent on who it is addressed to. Tu is use to address, friends, children, classmates, family, pets and in general anyone who addresses to you using Tu. Usted on the other hand is used when addressing strangers, people whom you wish to show respect, an older person who you want to show respect, an honorable figure or an authority, and public audience.

We can see the same common ground in the our culture too:

"Simpy put, aku is the low ngoko form of the 1st person pronoun in Javanese (Bahasa Jawa). Thus, Javanese will only use it when they are conversing with others that they feel very familiar with, such as close friends, immediate siblings, and those younger than them or of lower social status.  

Therefore, strictly speaking, a Javanese would never use aku when conversing with an elder, a superior, or any other person to whom they should show respect. In such contexts they would use a higher honorific form Kula."

Source http://ausdag.blogspot.com/2012/05/antara-aku-dan-saya-bedanya-apa.html

Two cultures apart, both, underlie the differences in terms to show respect and being polite as oppose to addressing people at the same level or of lower status. In the English, you and I have no connotation but in other languages, the choice of using a repertoire of first person/second person singular pronouns depend on who we are conversing with.

So, if you are among the masses who use aku and kau  to represent I and you in your everyday conversations as the norm, why do you regard the other person of the same level as your pets? In other circumstances, you would use the formal and polite terminologies to show proper respect. Why must you condescend with some people and belittle others?

I suppose this simple example of how we interact with others reflect on our worldview. We like to think ourselves as kings (or queens) in our own world but in the real world we realize that we are just ordinary people. Maybe if we change they way we interact with others in our own world regardless of their status or position, the real world would be a better place.

Changing our behavior starts with changing our worldview. Hence, Ladies and Gentlemen, it is something we can do to make a difference.