It hardly feels like a year has passed, yet on August 17, 2026, we will once again commemorate Indonesia’s 81st Independence Day. Eighty-one years is no short span of time, and today, we are still given the opportunity to stand on the soil of this archipelago we call home.

Reflecting on this year’s overarching theme, “A Sovereign, Just, and Prosperous Indonesia,” we are invited to ask an important question: how significant is this vision in shaping the nation’s progress? Are these three ideals truly taking root in our society, or are they merely words carried by the wind?

To answer that question, we need to take a step back and look at the three foundations that ultimately sustain a sovereign, just, and prosperous nation: civilization, sovereignty, and prosperity. These three do not exist independently. Rather, they unfold in sequence and reinforce one another, much like the steps of a staircase leading toward a greater destination.

Civilization is the very first foundation. Before we speak of independence, and before we speak of progress, a nation must first develop its way of thinking, its way of life, and its shared system of values. Civilization determines the direction in which a nation chooses to move. Without a strong civilizational foundation, independence risks becoming nothing more than a legal status written on paper rather than a reality experienced by its people every day. Civilization also gives progress a sense of direction and purpose, ensuring that we are not simply moving faster without knowing where we are ultimately headed.

Once civilization begins to take shape, there is room to strengthen sovereignty and cultivate a sense of security and dignity for everyone, without exception. Yet sovereignty is not something that can be achieved once, signed into existence, and then placed away in an archive.

Sovereignty must be protected continuously and carried from one generation to the next. The threats to sovereignty today do not always come from beyond our national borders. They can also emerge from within, from our own negligence in protecting what belongs to us, or from a growing indifference that slowly erodes our sense of belonging to our own country.

Prosperity may be the final stage in this sequence, but it is precisely here that we are called to reflect most deeply. How strong, in reality, is the civilization we have built? Consider, for example, the signs of moral decline that have increasingly become visible: the gradual fading of honesty, the slow replacement of gotong royong by individualism, and the weakening of our resilience against primordial values that once served as a social bond. Prosperity without a strong moral foundation will only produce fragile wealth, easily shaken by even the smallest crisis.

Civilization, in essence, cannot be measured solely through statistics, economic growth, or the number of infrastructure projects we have built. All of these things matter, but they only reveal the surface.

Indonesia belongs to all of us. Every effort counts, not the other way around, where we live by the motto of every man for himself. Every achievement we create, every image we present, and every record we leave behind becomes part of the civilization we will pass on—both to those who have already found their place and to those who are still on the journey of discovering themselves.

Returning to the central theme of August 17, 2026, “A Sovereign, Just, and Prosperous Indonesia,” there is one thing we must continue to remember: moving toward the future does not mean forgetting the past. The past is not merely a memory revisited once a year during a flag-raising ceremony. It is a living lesson that should continue to guide our steps. Only by understanding where we came from can we truly know where we are going and build a nation whose civilization is genuinely sovereign, just, and prosperous.

Divided we fall, together we stand. The changing age of the Republic of Indonesia is not merely about adding another number to our national history. It is a collective hope entrusted to us—one that will bear fruit for generations to come. Let us continue to uphold our sovereignty and build prosperity together.