Why We Clap for the Wrong Things

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Kadang aku mikir (kebanyakan mikir emang ya): kenapa ya, menjaga alam dianggap amal, tapi jualan handphone dibilang jenius? Strange world, isn’t it?

We praise people who invent faster phones, smarter apps, shinier screens — and call them innovators. But when someone spends their life replanting trees or cleaning the ocean, we call them volunteers. It’s beautiful, yes, but also… kind of sad.

Seolah-olah, doing good for the planet itu cuma bonus. Something you do after you’ve made enough money, after your brand gets big, after your company can afford CSR. Padahal tanpa alam, semua itu nggak akan ada. No oxygen, no phone signal, no market. Just silence. I've just even realised that the CSR-related subject in schools are highlighted for the kindness and charitable action instead. A bit shameful about it now.

Tapi entah kenapa, kita hidup di dunia di mana value diukur dari profit, bukan dari purpose. Selling phones? That’s “innovation.” Conserving nature? That’s “charity.”

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Maybe the world would look different if we considered conservation not as charity work, but as the ultimate act of human intelligence.
Because in the end, what’s more genius than ensuring we all still have air to breathe?

Maybe we’ve got it all backward.
Maybe the real genius bukan yang bisa bikin manusia makin sibuk dengan layar, tapi yang bisa bikin bumi bertahan lebih lama untuk dihuni.

A tree that quietly gives oxygen every day is more consistent than any CEO.
A coral reef that keeps the ocean alive is more efficient than any algorithm.
But they don’t make money — so we don’t call them genius.

Sometimes I wonder, kalau saja dunia ini bisa direstart — mungkin kita akan tepuk tangan untuk orang yang menanam, bukan yang menjual.
We’d celebrate those who sustain, not just those who invent.
Because at the end of the day, what’s more genius than ensuring we all still have air to breathe?



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