If not now, when? From Micro to Macro

Local elections are approaching: candidate announcement posters, debates over candidacies, and the disparagement of the previous term... Yes, all the signs are there. 

Well! The price hikes have started too. That means the election is near. 

Everyone is suddenly remembered. 

I follow the announcements of mayors on Instagram. I will try not to target anyone in particular. I will only use Kadıköy, where I lived for years, and Çankaya, where I currently live, as examples. I will criticize them. Moreover, these two municipalities are likely among the best-managed ones. I specifically chose good examples so that no one has an excuse. 

You know how they say some societies are individualistic and others are collectivist. I think we are neither. We haven't managed to be either individualistic or collectivist. Why? Let me explain.

Micro 1: The Devil Take the Hindmost

Let's say you are in Çankaya, for example, you live in Ayrancı. You have a child and use a stroller. Or you are elderly and have difficulty walking. Or you have to use a wheelchair. Or you have no visible problems but are afraid of cars. Then you cannot live in Ayrancı. Walking on the sidewalks is impossible. Unfortunately, to realize our lack of sidewalks, one has to be in the situation mentioned above or have loved ones in that situation. Very few of us are interested in these issues solely out of empathy. Unfortunately, I am not part of that minority. 

Let's say you are in Kadıköy. You write about your sidewalk problem under the municipality's Instagram post. The corporate account replies: Can you identify and send the locations where you are having trouble? Look at the audacity! My suggestion for the corporate account: You determine and announce the walking routes on the sidewalks. The missing ones will be visible anyway. 

Çankaya Municipality has established quite qualified nurseries that have few equals. They should be congratulated. But how will our children get to these nurseries safely? By their families' cars, right? What about those who don't have cars? What do they say? The devil take the hindmost. 

Micro 2: Don't read, it won't be read!

Our education problem is well-known. A large number of universities have been opened. Quality has dropped. There shouldn't be this many universities! And what will happen to all these graduates?

The government is solving all of this. Life has become so expensive that people can no longer afford to study at universities. Students cannot settle into the universities they earned, and even if they do, they cannot study because they have to work, and they are forced to live in unhealthy homes. They get beaten, poisoned, tortured, die, or are killed in dormitories. 

What will happen if we study at universities? Look at the state of the glorious Boğaziçi University, of which I am a graduate! Even university professors cannot enter the university. Job postings are published without the knowledge of the department head or the professors. The country has fallen apart. 

At Kastamonu University, a philosophy department graduate cannot apply for a position in the philosophy department. When this was communicated and spread, they changed the ad. This time, they pulled another trick. 

Let's say the children got into university. They settled into a dorm or a house. This time, the cost of equipment and books breaks their backs. 

If that's not enough, they have to look for a place to work. Because school libraries are not enough. Moreover, due to paid programs used in some courses, either illegal software use is encouraged, exorbitantly priced programs are purchased, or there are queues in the departments' computer labs. Students who do not have the means to consult a lawyer against all these injustices cannot even attempt to struggle with these problems. Because they are neither organizing, nor are existing organizations dealing with their troubles. 

Macro: We will die, they will die, in plain sight!

Celal Şengör explained it again. This time he spoke to the YouTube channel of the science magazine Herkese Bilim Teknoloji. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Npqf7hKaXE&t=11s&ab_channel=HerkeseBilimTeknoloji

The Istanbul earthquake will happen. At some time or another. But right now, the indifference, apathy, and helplessness of the overwhelming majority of the 20 million people there prevail. The administrators are the same. Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu is undoubtedly working on this issue. But it is not enough. This must be kept on the agenda every day. The Istanbul earthquake is the most urgent and terrifying problem of Istanbul and our country. 

We are surprised in movies and documentaries. We are surprised by the people living in countries where wars and disasters occur, even though it is known in advance that these will happen. We say, how could they be so indifferent? 

The Istanbul earthquake is an event expected just as we would expect a launched missile to hit the ground. I don't know if we would be this indifferent if we saw such a missile moving slowly in the skies. 

Precautions must be taken urgently. The lives of our loved ones and our citizens should not be this cheap. We have ruined a city that is thousands of years old many times over. There is no forgiveness for this one. A great culture and human existence will be destroyed. Millions of our lives are in danger. The country's economy and security are in danger. Every moment I don't draw attention to this, every moment I don't do something about it, I feel guilty. 

Those who do not live in Istanbul! My words are for you. Look closely at the faces of your loved ones living there!

Those who love that city, walk through it as if every moment you spend in Istanbul is your last.

Those who care about Turkey's security! Do not wait for the missile from the skies. 

Those who think about Turkey's economy! Foresee the scarcity, hunger, and economic upheaval. Do something! Before it is too late!