What a contradiction!

They asked the people of my country, “What scares you the most?” and they replied, “The division of Turkey.”

I am not the one saying this.

It emerged in a study conducted by Bekir Ağırdır last July.

One is tempted to say, “Is this a joke?”

As if it weren't the people themselves who have kept a mentality in power for 23 years under all conditions—a mentality that has issues with Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the Republic, the Republic's values, principles, philosophy, and revolutions; with the Turkish nation itself, and with the unity and integrity of the country; and which has even become so reckless that it would hand over the keys to Kurdish nationalists without a second thought if it found an easy way to do so!

Well then, wouldn't one ask them: if you are so afraid, why do you chase after those who are more than inclined to divide and fragment the country!

The study was actually conducted to determine the fears and anxieties of the people of my country.

It has remarkable results.

First, let's underline this assessment by Bekir Ağırdır with a thick pen.

“The economic storm that has been going on for almost 7-8 years, the pandemic, the normalized earthquakes, floods, landslides, forest fires, the social polarization that becomes more lumpen every day, the violence and security concerns in daily life that are becoming commonplace as they spread, and the increasing uncertainties in digital media are fueling fears. On the other hand, each of these elements I have noted feeds the other, giving a more complex structure to the fears in daily life and individual defense behaviors.”

If we look at the details of the research, it is possible to say that the political Islamist government has damaged our mental health as a nation, perhaps irreversibly.

It is understood that we can no longer cope with our fears, both as individuals and as a society.

For example, 37 percent of the participants in the study stated that their fear levels have increased compared to last year.

This rate rose to 42 percent among those over 50.

This means approximately 25 million people within the adult population.

In other words, about 30 percent of the total population in Turkey!

It is not a rate to be ignored.

We know very well that if the government continues with this mindset, we will be much more fearful and anxious next year.

Let no one doubt this.

Let's continue...

According to Bekir Ağırdır, while society is finding common ground in anxieties and fears, fears have become dominant in daily life.

We can already guess these more or less.

Because anyone curious about what is happening around them can see what the society has become when they go out on the street.

Let's get to the crux of the matter.

The most critical part of the research.

They asked, “What are you most afraid of?” 61 percent of the participants answered, “The division of Turkey.”

It turned out that the people of my country are not as afraid of contracting fatal diseases like cancer, being imprisoned on false charges, or becoming penniless and destitute in old age as they are of the division of Turkey.

Should we laugh or cry...

It wouldn't be right to pass without saying it; this part of the issue reeks of hypocrisy.

For instance, let's take the AKP and DEM.

One is Islamist, the other is Kurdish nationalist!

Is it possible that a voter who casts their ballot for DEM does not know that this party is the political extension of a terrorist organization, and that this organization has caused the blood of 50 thousand people to be shed for an independent Kurdistan?

Or that a voter who votes for political Islamists does not think that the government has issues with secularism, secular education, women's rights, civil law, and national identity...?

Of course not.

Let's be honest with ourselves; the people of my country know very well what is what and use their political behavior accordingly.

Everyone is aware of everything.

But no one gives up the position from which they protect their small interests.

When it comes to demagoguery, no one takes a step back from “Homeland, nation, Sakarya.” Then, what if the country is divided...

Forget these... It's not convincing at all.

The result is clear. Over the past 23 years, the AKP has knowingly and willingly brought the country to such a point that we may not have been divided and fragmented politically, administratively, or geographically yet, but we have literally fallen apart in terms of mentality.

Turk, Kurd, Arab, Circassian, Laz, Sunni, Alevi...

The religious, ethnic, and sectarian fault lines of society are about to break.

The government did not do this with divine power. It proceeded with the support of its voters, which never fell below 30 percent.

In short, we can say that the People's Alliance (Cumhur İttifakı) voters do not have such a fear sincerely, and that they knowingly and willingly support the government's current policy.

Now let's put these inferences on the table and continue with the results of the research.

Let's set up an equation like this.

Suppose the total votes of the AKP, MHP, DEM, and other small parties are around 47-48 percent. Let the remaining 52-53 percent be part of the group that fears the division of Turkey, as revealed in the research.

Let's assume that 8-9 percent are in the “intersection set,” that is, they consist of those who say, “I am both afraid of the division of Turkey and I give my vote to them.”

It is possible in theory.

But the real issue here emerges in the main body of the 61 percent.

How so?

It is said that after the March 19 coup attempt, the CHP's votes supposedly rose, approaching 40 percent. In the final analysis, we can understand the people of my country clinging to the CHP by saying, “What can we do, we have no other choice” to get rid of this government.

If 61 percent of the people of my country are afraid of the country's division, at least half, perhaps two-thirds, of them should be CHP voters.

The mathematics and logic of politics tell us this.

Let's stop here once more and ask.

Does the CHP voter, who forms the main body of the group that fears the division of Turkey, not see Özgür Özel disregarding the values and principles of the party he leads for three or five Kurdish votes, doing backflips to look cute to Kurdish nationalists, engaging in identity politics, jumping headfirst into the commission in Parliament without refusing Abdullah Öcalan's request, and even going further by using imperialist jargon like “If Kurds have votes, they should also have a say”?

If they see it and are afraid, why do they insistently stand behind Özgür Özel, why don't they put pressure on the Headquarters and make an effort for the CHP to return to its essence and founding settings?

They might have cataracts in their eyes, or perhaps they have other calculations...

In the end, there is no logic in saying, “I am both afraid of my country being divided and I consent to the party I vote for working with Kurdish nationalists and laying dynamite at the foundations of the country together with them.”

Perhaps the polls announced by Özgür Özel are wrong, or there is an error in Bekir Ağırdır's research.

We don't know.

Let us end our article by saying that we will settle this as a nation when the ballot box is placed before us.