The longing for 'soysuzluk' (being without lineage)

Even in our curses and insults, there is an obsession with lineage: 'Bastard', 'bloodless', 'soysuz' (without lineage). The influence of one's lineage is understandable for people of the past. They must have thought that for a person to possess virtue and morality, they must have a lineage, a root. They must have a sense of decency. Without these, they likely believed a person would be rootless and unmoored.

The issue of lineage is a deeply rooted belief. It exists in almost every area of politics and social life. Monarchy persists in politics. It is the same in professions.

Especially in the age of empires, lineage is very important. People have given birth to children and conquerors have killed children just so that a lineage could be preserved and a monarchy could continue.

Lineage is the most important issue of the pre-democratic era. When a person belongs to that era, they worship lineage; they call their enemies or those they curse 'soysuz'.

In those eras, the longing of the 'soysuz' is also to possess a lineage, to mingle with a lineage. Unfortunately, this is true 'soysuzluk': not having a lineage and yet worshipping lineage.

In the eyes of a dynasty supporter, 'soysuzluk' is the gravest flaw.

Those who are the voice of the people and the nation against the dynasty fight primarily for the 'soysuz'. But even they are often obsessed with lineage. They become enemies of others because they possess a lineage. The French and Russian revolutionaries slaughtered members of the dynasty. It is difficult to explain this brutality solely by the need to protect the revolution. Lineage is so important that it must come to an end. Otherwise, it could be resurrected.

Yet, is it the same for us? Atatürk and his comrades-in-arms, the Turkish revolutionaries, did not stoop to this. The leaders of the Committee of Union and Progress had already shaken the emperor's reputation by making him walk in front of and behind their horses. However, lineage was important in their eyes as well. Lineage is a concept that goes very deep in the human mind.

That is why the value of those who could emerge from those dark ages is so great. Those who see the 'soysuz', the destitute, and the slaves as part of the human race and achieve freedom with them are great. That liberation extends to a system where lineage does not matter, does not profit, and does not bring privilege or contempt. 'Soysuzluk' is longed for. An attempt is made to establish a system where no lineage is superior and everyone is valuable simply because they are human, simply because they are citizens. In the eyes of a dynasty supporter, this effort is the greatest sin.

A dynasty supporter bellowed. They called the heroes who drove out the 'noble' ones 'soysuz'. It is an honor not to be one of you. In the eyes of revolutionaries, members of the dynasty are also 'soysuz', or they are simply valuable individuals of the human race. Thanks to Atatürk and his comrades-in-arms, we have a state that the destitute call 'my state', even if sometimes mistakenly, and a homeland they call 'my homeland'. Let the lies and dreams be theirs. Both support for and hostility toward dynasty members are meaningless. Evaluating a person apart from their lineage is the greatest achievement of modern law. We achieved this success by placing responsibility and duty on the shoulders of the citizen.

Prophet Muhammad preferred servitude over tribal leadership. Ali ibn Abi Talib trusted his sword, not his lineage. Atatürk and his comrades-in-arms became leaders of the people rather than servants of the sultan. One should follow in the footsteps of these great people. In the eyes of those who connect themselves to such an intellectual/cultural lineage, 'lineage' speeches are empty talk. With the longing for an era where the human, not the lineage, is seen...