Scenes of reason from my country

Last week marked the 103rd anniversary of the Treaty of Lausanne, the document that serves as the guarantee of our country and our independence. July 24, 1923, is a highly significant historical event where the determination of borders, the abolition of capitulations, the recognition of minorities as Turkish citizens, and many other articles in the interest of the newly formed country were accepted; more importantly, it is the date that paved the way for an independent nation to emerge from a collapsing empire.

Unfortunately, those who shamelessly disparage Lausanne are attempting to devalue the Treaty, which was signed after so many battles and hard-fought negotiations. However, those who can speak ill of the Treaty with the air of an enemy occupation commander resort to nonsensical and insulting expressions, such as the oft-repeated claim that 'they first showed death with Sèvres, then made us settle for Lausanne.' To these people, if they can even understand, it seems to me that saying this much is enough: 'If that is the case, then why did the Ottoman administration, which you blindly worship and which was collapsing under administrative incompetence and heavy debts, not show the strength to fight and the courage to sign a treaty more authoritative and solid than Lausanne?'

No prudent state official or public defends an old state or sovereignty that was established in the past but somehow collapsed and became a matter of history, nor do they find such masochistic comfort in their past. This folly is not seen among the heirs of Byzantium, the heirs of Egyptian civilization, or even the heirs of Persian civilization. In the future, history will likely show us as the only nation that commits this folly. If the energy directed toward the past had been directed toward the future, we would not have hidden behind the simplicity of being deceived, and we would have prospered the country with a more prudent, contemporary administration rather than a reactionary tribal one. What can you do; flashes of reason from the people of the country!

They say that in the afterlife, Turks will never be able to get out of Hell. The reason is simple: every person trying to climb out of the well will be pulled back in by the others by their feet. A member of parliament from one city left his work aside and complained to the Ministry of Interior about the governor of a neighboring city, claiming that he was damaging the reputation of the state by riding a bicycle in his tracksuit and helmet on his days off! What can one say; may God grant them reason and wisdom! The state, too, left its work aside and processed the complaint of the esteemed complainant. It must be a tremendous success for all parties! Later, it was reflected in the media that the essence of the matter was inter-city jealousy. In this case, a prudent administration would have sent the complaining MP abroad with a European scholarship to show them that in those places, MPs—and even deputies—go to their offices by bicycle, not just on their days off, but on working days as well. The shrewd complainant who saw this would probably have complained about them to the United Nations as well! It should be reminded to the complainant that the Prime Minister of the Netherlands also used to go to work by bicycle. It is even known that in some cities in Turkey, some public administrators go to work by bicycle. It should be reminded to this person: does envying competition align with morality and virtue, or with work ethics? I wish that instead of fulfilling the request of the person who made the complaint, they had been gifted a bicycle. As Aziz Nesin once said, different scenes of reason are seen in my dear country!

Another one of our MPs cited the large number of retirees as the reason for the low income of retirees. What can one say! In the coming years, the number of retirees will rise even higher. We cannot ask this esteemed person who pays the retirees' salaries, because we would not get an answer, because that person cannot analyze this situation. But this person should know that retirees are not idle people; they are people who have worked, served this country as much as they could, and even contributed to the fact that MP salaries are so bloated with their own calloused hands. A person should, at the very least, pass their words through a test of courtesy before they leave their mouth. A futile expectation! Scenes of reason from my country are this colorful!

Among all these oddities, we have one happy event: the 'Sultans of the Net / Atatürk's athletic daughters' made us proud. I must say without beating around the bush that in an environment where such deep problems darken our hearts, the Sultans carried us to the heights. May they be well, may they exist. Fortunately, our reason has returned a bit, and I think we have had the wisdom not to repeat the return misery we caused the Sultans in 2024 this time. These young people should be hosted and rewarded by the highest level of the state with a grand ceremony. We shall see! I would like to close this beautiful, heart-warming topic as follows: Despite the collapse in almost every field, how is it that the theorem of communicating vessels did not work for the Sultans of the Net? Another issue to consider in this regard is that the situation that makes the Sultans of the Net so different is not only the Sultans themselves, but also the necessity of examining the collapse in all other areas that caused the Sultans to shine so brightly! Yes, let us rejoice for the Sultans; but let us also address, discuss, analyze, and find a remedy for the tragic collapse.

While there is a series of issues that could be put in order on this list, let us end the article by touching on one last topic. The New Party issue! The subject is related to those who, while focusing on the New Party, are actually disparaging it in the guise of cunning, sympathetic-looking mentorship rather than those who praise it. I am not interested in the New Party, nor in the CHP, which has long since lost its essence and whose problems have become apparent with its latest tricks. Please, let us not focus so much on domestic problems and take a look at who the puppeteer triggering these problems is! Besides Trump reminding us of Pastor Brunson every now and then, can his great appreciation for the President of Turkey and their chat arm-in-arm like two intimate high school friends at the NATO meeting be considered genuine, when familiarity is something Trump hates? No, it is not! Because if it were, couldn't Trump have prevented it? Of course, he could have. So, why didn't he? The issue is, while the Middle East is being shaped by British-Israeli intelligence and US military and financial power, could Condoleezza Rice's view on borders from years ago also be on the agenda? How did it happen that, years later, a scene of a high-level agreement with a new opening project is being staged? In this scene, there is neither the public nor a public referendum on the agenda. High-level contracts and covert bargains will be tried to be fed to all parties. In this scenario, I wonder if a role has been carved out only for Turkey, or could an independent-looking dependent state be created under US dominance in the 'Iran-Turkey-Syria-Iraq' land areas that would give confidence to Israel, and in the future, a momentary confederation? And wouldn't Iran also be crumbled by internal rebellions this way? Wouldn't this earthquake also spill over into our country? Turkey's southeastern region is the richest region in terms of mines and water.

In the face of such a treacherous project, let us leave aside internal conflict, short-sighted personal survival, and internal strife, and focus on the games played over Turkey; let us try to be a whole, undivided with our nation and state, so that Turkey is not dragged into a trustee administration! If we could only think of this: the country can only be served with long-term prudent thoughts, not with short-term political cunning! We must handle party games and the ambition to stay in power not in the short term, but in the long term in the direction of the benefit of the country and the people. Rather than the party shaping of the country or personal survival problems, fundamental economic, political, and administrative problems are reflected, and in the sub-layers of these, there is collapsed justice, collapsed education, collapsed ethics, rapidly advancing reactionism, and religious appearances disguised in fake molds.

While trying to solve short-term problems, if we include the aforementioned structures that need to be uprooted from my dear country in the program; if we ensure that politics is based on competence and prudence rather than partisanship; if we make a serious economic development plan; if we make radical reforms in justice and education; if we can instill the idea that the future of the country will consist of bright-minded and courageous, well-trained young people, only then will the scenes of reason from my country bring relief to our souls!

Let us hope that from now on, we can handle the subject of scenes of reason from my country with more heart-warming examples and a more peaceful outlook on the future.

My dear readers, if you allow me, let us take a short vacation until we meet on Wednesday, September 2nd, with you away from these unpleasant writings and me free from the burden of writing with sadness. With my wishes for a wonderful vacation break and my respects!