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Tyranny of the mediocre man
by
ORHAN KEMAL CENGİZ
by
ORHAN KEMAL CENGİZ
For many years I have been active in civil society, in professional organizations, and I have been observing political life in Turkey. From left to right, from secular to religious, no matter what political affiliation, Turkish society has little tolerance for individuality and difference. You must always be a part of a group; you should act how the group acts. There is no respect for the “individual” in this country, and only “political power” can promote you. By “political power” I do not refer to politics. I am talking here about group dynamics. In any given group, people are promoted and rewarded in Turkey because of their loyalty to authority, because of their ability to adapt to any given group's internal dynamics. “Individual power,” however, has nothing to do with these kinds of internal dynamics. It is about creativity, intelligence, intuition, being competent, being a doer, and it entirely draws upon the strength of the individual. This kind of “individual power” is only in seen in commerce in Turkey. But when it comes to civil society, politics and other contexts in which group dynamics have precedence, “individual power” is scary and “political power” is everything.
You may be part of an association, a political party, a professional organization, a religious community or the media; no matter what your personal abilities are, if you do not conform to the internal dynamics of the group, you are nothing. The brightest minds are not in politics, you are not reading the most talented writers and no one becomes a director or governor just because they have “leadership qualities”; obedience and adaptation are the biggest virtues in this country.
Why is it like this? Is it because of the guardianship of the military? The military certainly plays a role in it. Because when there are guardians over any given system, you can only be valuable or important to the extent your actions fall in line with the expectations of those guardians. This is exactly what has been happening for ages in this country. The most prestigious journalists were the ones who had the best relations with the military.
The guardianship of the military over society is now breaking down, but does this mean there will be a significant change in our “mediocracy”? I do not think so. The tyranny of the ordinary man has a long history in Turkey, and it cannot be explained by one factor only. The education system and family are other important factors that help to promote the virtues of obedience and adaptation. I also believe that taboos, of which we have so many, also play quite an important role in our social and political life and help to punish individualism and support “political power.” Taboos and creative thinking cannot coexist. To have and maintain taboos, you need to kill individuality first. An individual who has his owns and unuqie conscience, who has the ability to think independently and creatively, may start to question your taboos and may revolt against your imposed discourse. As a society that is surrounded by so many taboos, you need half sleeping individuals, you only need followers who will never, ever question you.
Unless we get rid of all taboos surrounding our lives, there will be no real freedom. Unless we have real freedom, we will never allow “individual power” to take precedence over “political power.” As long as we continue to punish “individual power,” we are condemned to live in this kitsch world, under the tyranny of the ordinary man.
This much free thinking is enough for one piece. Have a good weekend!
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