Father-Law

Let me start with my defense. I don't know where I got the inspiration, but in these days when a new Constitution is being discussed, it occurred to me to write an article on the topic that instead of a constitution (anayasa) in a hurry, we need a 'father-law' (babayasa) in a hurry. Assuming you know my close interest in plagiarism, and hoping you will welcome my arrogance, I immediately asked Mr. Google. It turns out that our irreplaceable humorist, the late Aziz Nesin, had the headline 'Not a Constitution, but a Father-Law' in the 13th issue of his Zübük magazine, dated April 30, 1982. Far from being upset, I was quite proud that I might have the talent to create a similar humorous association to the master, even with a very small example.   

I did some research. As far as I can see, there is no other country besides us that calls its supreme laws a 'constitution' (anayasa). The vast majority use various derivatives of the Latin word 'constitutio'. Naturally, as always, I am ready to be proven wrong. 

In my opinion, the designation of 'father' (baba) instead of 'mother' (ana) for this supreme law is very appropriate. In my view, there are four fundamental reasons for this:  

1. The word 'father' always symbolizes strength/power. Even Jesus Christ cries out to God as 'Father' from the cross. Let me underline this immediately. Don't get confused. Whether Jesus is the son of God is a separate issue here. On the other hand, this important issue of Jesus could very well come up during the parliamentary debates that will take place during the preparation of our new 'father-law', which I am honestly waiting for with curiosity. Furthermore, if our scientific circles approve, the same topic could even be a TÜBİTAK project.   

As you know, another proof of the strength/power relationship of the word 'father' is that when we get angry, we say, 'Don't act like a father to me!' (Öyle babalanma!). I have never heard anyone shout, 'Don't act like a mother to me!'

2. The word 'father' is also an expression of benevolence and compassion. Like, 'Do a fatherly favor for Hasan, who is also close to our district head, and get him a job,' or 'My dear brother, do a fatherly favor and ensure the appointment of our fellow countrywoman, teacher Ayşe, to Erenköy, which is a relatively nearby village.'                                                                                         

Let me avoid plagiarism here too. It was many years ago. I witnessed an argument between Fakir Baykurt and Kemal Tahir at the Lausanne Club (Moda – Kadıköy), a famous literary venue of those times. Baykurt accused Tahir of not giving enough space to the Anatolian people in his novels, and Tahir replied, 'What are you talking about? The furthest village you know well is Erenköy.' They were about to walk towards each other when Haldun Taner, who was managing the meeting, jumped up with his tall stature and thundered: 'Friends, there are quite young friends among us, pull yourselves together!'         

3. Another important point is that the word 'father' cannot easily be the subject of profanity. I have reached this age, and I have never heard a vulgar curse directed at someone's father instead of their mother when we are angry.  

4. As is well known, expressions like 'she made my mother cry,' 'I made his mother cry,' and 'if anyone cries, mothers cry' are all directed at mothers. For some reason, fathers do not cry so easily, or cannot be made to cry. On the other hand, throughout history, many constitutions have been ruined, and these documents, which were mostly prepared with good intentions, have been brought to the point of crying if they had tongues. As the name implies, it is clear that such bad treatment cannot be done to 'father-laws'.  

I will also add a real personal story that I think is very relevant to our current constitution. I am ending my humor attempts now, without boring you. 

As I remind you whenever I get the chance, Istanbul University has a great shame before history. This institution, where I served as the founding president of the Ethics Committee for nine years with great care, shamefully gave honorary law doctorate and professorship titles to Kenan Evren, the architect of the September 12 coup and the President of the time, in 1983. However, it did not stop there; the largely unchanged university administration gave an honorary doctorate to the President of the era, Süleyman Demirel, 10 years later, in 1993. 

In those years, I was very angry with the university administration and was writing articles criticizing them as best I could. Regarding the honorary doctorate given to Demirel, I said the following in an article addressing the President: '...Mr. President, I have no eyes on your honorary doctorate, nor am I someone who denies your services in our country's transition to democracy. But be sure of this; our country's largest and most established university, which is in a rush to give you an honorary doctorate today, is truly bleeding. Irregularity and lawlessness are rampant in our university. Not a day goes by without another court decision being ignored. The most obvious lesson and example we give our students is to say 'my master to the one who leaves, my pasha to the one who arrives'...' (Laudatio at Istanbul University, Cumhuriyet, November 4, 1993). As you can imagine, these articles of mine were not liked at all by the university administration, and numerous administrative investigations were opened against me. Just as another investigation had started following my last article, the Higher Education Council (YÖK) dismissed the university rector. 

A short while later, on a sunny morning, I was about to enter the rectorate building in Beyazıt when one of the windows opened and someone called out to me. 'Hasan, how are you? Give my regards to Cahit.' I looked up; the person calling out was a law professor who had also been involved in my last investigation. The same professor was also one of the leading names in the commission that prepared the 1981 Constitution. Cahit, to whom the regards were sent, was my late uncle and the valuable jurist Cahit Davran. I replied: 'Thank you, I am fine, I will convey your regards to my uncle. By the way, since I see you, let me ask, have you reached a decision on my last investigation?' The famous law professor's answer came immediately: 'Don't worry. We have already forgotten that investigation.'

What I mean is, who prepares the constitutions is also very important.