The day after tomorrow

Although it may seem long compared to a butterfly, humans are short-lived creatures. We are in need of water and food every day, and our priorities are naturally short-term. For a human to be able to set medium-term goals and make long-term calculations, their agenda must be aligned with this. Because we are currently trying to survive on what remains of our country, we are missing out on vital issues that directly concern us all.

We have passed the point of no return in the climate crisis. The population has never been this high at any point in history. Humans have never lived in such large crowds, nor have they lived this long. They have never communicated with those so far away, and they have never had knowledge beyond yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Throughout history, they have worked as contract killers in the armies of the mafia-like businessmen of their era—to whom we now attribute the name of a state—and farmed their fields for mere subsistence.

According to data from the Center for Human and Social Research, half of the African continent's population is under the age of 15. The continent's population, which was 200 million in 1950, will reach 4.5 billion by 2100. It is not that people do not love each other by nature; it is just that they do not want to share what they were born with—that is, their place of birth—with others. Those who come do not come because they have no one left behind, but because they could not become anything there. In other words, they set out because of poverty and go to get a share of the wealth in the place they can reach.

The climate crisis and migration are the problems of our age. Unfortunately, our country's list of problems is not that short. However, we have a problem-solver that could eliminate all other issues. Moreover, it is a path that was tried in these lands a hundred years ago and yielded positive results: education.

It is possible to solve all our problems solely through education, without fixing any other issue, by leaving it to time. This is, of course, an intolerable duration; it is a path that will take generations. It is not a solution path produced to be implemented anyway. It is a thesis. A thesis that is verified by its obverse and reverse, and can be proven. That is, a thesis that means education is the greatest problem-solver, while a lack of education is the greatest source of problems.

Providing the public with a basic education was one of the primary areas where the Republic of Turkey spent its efforts. The Law on Unification of Education (Tevhid-i Tedrisat Kanunu) was adopted on March 3, 1924, when the republic was only 4 months old. If we accept that a generation grows up in 20-25 years, the broad-participation education model was successful thanks to the contemporary approach and the Village Institutes. When we consider the impossibilities and darkness of the past compared to today, the mentally healthy and conscious generations of the republic carried the republic until the millennium. However, the education system, which deteriorated rapidly after 1980, has become the root cause of every wrong decision made by everyone under the age of 50 today.

The foundation of the breakthrough achieved by Japan after World War II and South Korea after the civil war was their scientific and efficient education systems. We are seeing through experience that in a society consisting of poorly educated people, all kinds of madness and ugliness are possible. For this reason, when the day comes, we must give the greatest importance and urgency to education, to the 20 million primary, high school, and university students at every stage of education, and to the educators and support staff at every level of education, and in doing so, raise the generations after us to be free in thought, conscience, and wisdom compared to us.