To passion sorrow clings and won't let go

• The Modern SEA literature is mostly driven by three different values; self, adat, and isms.
• Art pour l'art vs art engage: is it merely an art or what if it has some educational, social, or political value?
• Freedom of expression vs state power: Pramoedya's books were banned, he was in jail half of his life, Nguyen Du and Duong Thu Huong.
• Social Realism: literature exposes the ugly side of corrupted ideals such as Duty, Honor, and Respect.
• Universal Humanism vs Racialism
• Big traditions and little traditions in Southeast Asia
• Hindu-Buddhist value system vs Islamic value system
• " The extinction of race consciousness as between Muslims is one of the outstanding achievements of Islam; and in the contemporary world there is, as it happens, a crying need for the propagation of this Islamic virtue...( Toynbee, Civilization on Trial, p. 205)
• The legacy of Buddhist value--> TATA TENTREM KARTA RAHARJA ( order, peace of mind, economic prosperity, satisfaction of desires)
• evil arises when lesser values (such as the acquisition of personal wealth) are elevated above the higher values of duty, love, and freedom.
• Western values vs Eastern values
• Protestant Work Ethic: " God helps those who help themselves"