'Contemporary Civilization' and the AKP's October 29th advertisement

We cannot discuss Turkey's future. We have forgotten the future by constantly debating politics through legal cases and legal cases through politics. Meanwhile, an advertisement arrived from the AKP that connects the past to the future: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdDdx5puPeA

The YouTube account named ''AK Parti'' published this video with the following title: ''Our Republican ideals have become reality in the Century of Turkey''.

Drawing on the technological breakthroughs that coincide with the AKP era, the advertisement claims that it has adopted the goals of the Republic and has made progress in pursuit of these goals.

TECHNOLOGICAL BREAKTHROUGH AND POLITICAL GOAL

Yes, we had woven the country with iron nets in ten years. Technological breakthrough is among the goals of the revolution and the republic. But which state denies this goal? Is the Islamic Republic of Iran not advancing rapidly in the nuclear field? Or has the anti-Muslim, discriminatory Modi government in India not announced its 2025 Mars project? North Korea is by no means behind in the field of armament. Is China not a technology giant in the true sense? And what about the US? Is the US not at the top when it comes to technology?

Moving from here, is there really a continuity between the ideals of the US founding fathers and the technological breakthrough that coincides with the eras of Bush, Clinton, and Trump? Is Mao's continuous revolution, his call to bomb the headquarters, not more than a technological breakthrough? Is Modi following in the footsteps of Gandhi and Nehru?

What are our ''Republican Ideals'' anyway? The Republic is a regime that emphasizes the public and public power. Some of the successes shown in the advertisement do not even belong to the public. Moreover, the AKP era is the period when the means of production belonging to the public were disposed of. It is a period in which Republican ideals were truly abandoned and these ideals were extinguished.

The AKP advertisement exploits the negligence of those who leave Atatürk ownerless. It implies that it is following the path drawn by Atatürk and the goal he pointed out. ''Contemporary Civilization'' is much more than what its name suggests. The AKP is developing a discourse that is effective on millions who think only of technological progress and shiny visuals when they hear ''contemporary civilization''. I have no doubt that our side will also underestimate this advertisement. However, one must be a bit naive to believe the discourse in this advertisement.

Well then, why do I feel the need to respond to this discourse? Because this discourse has a buyer. This discourse fits the term ''Neo-Unionist Regime'', which Rasim Ozan Kütahyalı stated he borrowed from Etyen Mahçupyan. It is compatible with a political program that adopts the unity of the country, its progress in technical terms, and the expansion of its sphere of influence as its motto. It is a wonderful program that embraces secular nationalism, conservatism, and liberal appetite in Turkey at the same time. Moreover, if we add to this the aspirations of large nationalist segments overflowing with feelings of revenge against Western and Westernist voices that belittle Turkey and the Turks, this political program perhaps means the broadest consensus. An independent, strong, and self-confident policy is the common aspiration of very large segments.

However, the current government is neither strong nor independent with its destruction of institutions, its abandonment of common sense, its poor management of the economy, and most importantly, its hostility toward all progressive gains in Turkey. The strength of the Republic lies in its institutions, the quality of its human resources, and the bond its people have with their institutions. As long as this bond is strong, the republic is strong.

REPUBLICAN IDEALS ARE NOT OWNERLESS, BUT THEIR OWNERS ARE SILENT

This advertisement of the AKP and the fact that the advertisement finds buyers is because truly republican voices are being silenced. Since everything whose qibla, headquarters, and financing are abroad presents itself as an opponent of the AKP and leaves no room for real opponents, the real alternative has been made invisible. If we can keep our minds away from those who are ashamed of the country's strength, and those who run away from their Turkishness, their geography, and their nation, real alternatives will emerge.