And I feel utter regret, asking myself, “’Why should we act in this way, ruining ourselves?”Do you see the point to which the controversy over the new constitution has taken us, or more correctly, the point to which a certain group is trying to drag us? They say, “Turkey will become like Malaysia.” It is another are-you-aware-of-the-danger plot. They tell us to forget about our long-standing and entrenched traditions of being a nation and to fear being like some other nation. Now Malaysia is added to the list of countries that we fear being like -- a list which already includes Saudi Arabia, Iran, Algeria and Tunisia.
There is a reasonable majority in this country, it was said. Why is this majority no longer trusted?
We cannot go forward without trusting each other, without telling each other what we really think and without listening to each other thoroughly. First and foremost we cannot reach agreement or conciliation without correcting our manners.
If even the chairman of the Press Council has started to attack the people who do not think like him, uses a style he will regret when he comes to face-to-face with the people he targets and insults, then isn’t it high time we stop to rethink things? What is happening to us?
In talking about those who use “improper styles,” I do not refer only to “mainstream” media organizations. Whoever fails to act in a manner that befits him or uses columns, TV and radio programs for the purpose of insulting or disparaging people, is doing wrong. Recently I saw a man speaking on TV who frequently toyed with his hair. He used improper language against some people who simply shared their ideas. This is pure turpitude; this is pure provocation. And those who condone it are relentless and unscrupulous.
These people cannot be true democrats. Without being a true democrat you cannot seek truth in any field, let alone properly discuss the Constitution.
Democracy is a matter of good manners, a matter of internalization. If you cannot accept democracy and if you benefit from the status quo, you’ll pretend to defend what is right. But this image will soon fade away. As society’s awareness increases and as the system becomes more democratic, throwing away its “regime” characteristics, this makeup will be wiped away, revealing the true face behind.
Turkey deserves and is ready to be a first-class country. Turkey is preparing to make great strides. But the mentality of the Higher Education Board (YÖK) is preventing the country from doing so. You cannot make strides when you have academics that prefer to serve as the watchdogs of ideologies. You cannot go forward with a judicial system which seeks to be a partner to the government, obstruct national will and prevent democratization. Even more, if you have an aggressive and arrogant media that simultaneously assumes the roles of judge, prosecutor, government, court, bully and the people, you will forget about making strides altogether; continually faced by sabotage, undercutting, threats and all kinds of obstacles, losing your enthusiasm.
There may be “neighborhood pressure” in Turkey. But the real problem is that slum neighborhoods, lacking any infrastructure and having distorted architecture, are afraid of “urban transformation.” They fear modernization, having universal standards, rule of law and being integrated with the world. How long will these neighborhoods stand with the spirit of the slums? How long will they survive with a psychology of revolt?
Let us destroy our makeshift slums on our own. Let us establish shiny new neighborhoods instead. Let us try to share and make these neighborhoods, in which people do not see each other as foreign or enemies and in which walls of preconception are torn down.
Believe me, we can make it. We can trust each other.
Why do we opt to quarrel rather than trying this?
