It is time to stoke the fire of the Republic once again

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Republican forces have been engaged in an effort to defend the existing, eroded gains of the Republic for some time. However, it is high time to stoke and grow the fire of the Republic once again, and the new century of the Republic is a good opportunity for this.

In these lands, the Republic is, above all, a revolution of enlightenment. In this context, the Republic is a call to rebellion against superstition, bigotry, and dogmas.

The Republic is the name of overcoming backwardness through modern education, achieving full independence through the struggle against imperialism, and the intention to build an advanced democracy. Therefore, continuing this struggle is of vital importance.

More importantly, the structural problems we face today can only be solved by relying on the fundamental ideals of the Republic. Concerns and fears about the future can only be overcome in this way. Naturally, by acting with the principle that A. Taner Kışlalı expressed for Kemalism, which is the roadmap of the Republic: "Kemalism is not the guardianship of the past, but the vanguard of the future."

Today, perception agents and opinion hitmen are conducting a very powerful campaign to undermine and wear down the ideals of the Republic in the eyes of the public.

The primary task is to expose this perception operation. It would be a historical mistake for Republicans to underestimate their strength in this struggle. There is a 100-year intellectual accumulation that will serve as the foundation for this struggle. Furthermore, except for a small minority, the public, regardless of which party they vote for, has no issue with the secular, social, and legal structure of the Republic.

In this context, those who should primarily take on the task of exposing the efforts to discredit the ideals of the Republic and revealing their true colors are the intellectuals and the art community, whom Atatürk called "the people who first feel the light on their foreheads."

Today, Republican forces are faced with the task of either finding a new path or making a new one, as pointed out by the Carthaginian general Hannibal, to repel this major perception operation based on distortions directed at the Republic.