As We Enter the Second Century of Our Republic

The story of the arduous struggle on the path to the Republic is being staged as a magnificent theatrical production. Hosted by our Ministry of National Education and sponsored by Vakıfbank, the play titled Towards the Republic, featuring a cast of 110 actors, is being watched with tears in the eyes. Like everyone else, I watched the play, which was performed in Istanbul last week, with an incredible intensity of emotion. I understood once again what a difficult and equally sublime struggle we have waged as a nation. And I understood once again what a great fortune it is for human history to have witnessed such a great victory. I felt proud, very proud, to be the descendant of ancestors who won such a great victory. 

When the British Lord turned to İsmet Pasha during the signing of the Treaty of Lausanne and said, 'Do not rejoice so much, Pasha; no success is eternal, it must come to an end somewhere.' İsmet Pasha's determined stance and courageous defiance provided incredible enthusiasm, while the Lord's words gave deep cause for thought. 

Reaching the Republic was not easy. We achieved a great victory after a difficult struggle, but it did not end there, and it cannot. What comes after is much harder. Protecting, preserving, and defending what has been achieved requires a much greater effort. We fought, we suffered losses, we won. What follows is only possible with a rational, sustainable roadmap. We can only make our victory permanent by protecting our national unity and integrity. Those words uttered by the British Lord were not in vain, nor were they said casually. They were a declaration that they would keep the fire of revenge for their own defeat alive. Therefore, we must also keep the glow of our own victory alive. We are being watched closely, we are being observed. It is not easy to predict what would happen at the slightest stumble. For that reason, we must always remain vigilant and never fall into a void. 

Our Republic has left its first century behind and has entered its second. But as a nation, we have not yet been able to fully set things in order. Within the first century, we experienced a total of five coups, two of which were memoranda and one of which was suppressed. We could not escape from violence-laden political turmoil and economic crises. Earthquake disasters and pandemics gave us no respite. Just two days ago, we were shaken once again by the news of the martyrdom of six of our soldiers. 

We are located in a difficult geography. Being both a Middle Eastern and a European country at the same time is not easy at all. Our position, which connects two continents, requires us to be much more strategic than all other countries/states, both in terms of political economy and socio-cultural aspects. It would not be wrong to say that our social infrastructure is quite strong for this. The fact that we can all watch a theatrical play telling the story of our War of Independence with the same intensity of emotion is proof of our unity of spirit and feeling. The rest is up to the actors of politics. 

Politics is, above all, a public service. The actors of politics should see the public/society not as an instrument of politics, but as the target of political service. Politics is not a show stage for actors, but an area of service to the public. In this field, a production-oriented approach is essential. What is important is to provide service through production rather than putting on a show through rhetoric. We see this when we look at countries with high levels of social welfare. We witness that the actors of politics carry out politics with a completely production-oriented understanding. 

A significant portion of politics consists of rhetoric. We accept this. However, how the jargon of rhetoric is shaped is important for the functionality of politics. If the jargon of politics is created with an ideology-dominated discourse, then divisions and ideological categorizations occur. But if the jargon of politics is created with production-oriented concepts, then development, progress, entrepreneurial approaches, and a project-based mindset prevail.

Therefore, as we enter the second century of our Republic, it is beneficial for all segments that guide the service and production areas of society to review their roadmaps in this regard. At the forefront of these are the actors who take part in state administration, guide politics, and are decision-makers. For the future, the question of whether the goal should be to provide individual benefit through categorizations or to serve the public interest through unification and integration should be the focus of all actors.  

In the first century of our Republic, we talked a lot, fought, and became divided, but we saw that it did not work. How about building our second century with an understanding focused on reconciliation, unity, integrity, and production?