Atatürk and the resurrection of our youth

Generation Z, a term used today to refer to those born in 1995 and later, distinguishes itself from previous generations through its adaptability to technology. With their faster consumption habits and distinct language, Generation Z is also considered a target audience for politics. Sociologist Ebru Durmuş wrote about the interest in politics among Generation Z, whose apolitical side is often emphasized.

Here is Durmuş's article:

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk said; “What charts our path is the homeland we live in, the Turkish nation from whose bosom we emerged, and the conclusions we have drawn from the pages of the history of nations, which are filled with a thousand and one tragedies and sufferings.”

Indeed, the youth, in accordance with the discourse that there is no path other than reason and science—the path shown by Atatürk—have fulfilled their duties once again to the great leader Atatürk, with the belief that their primary duty is; “To preserve and defend the Turkish independence and the Turkish Republic forever; this is the sole foundation of our existence and our future,” and with the awareness that they are the most precious treasures of the Republic of Turkey, against the internal and external malevolent forces that wish to deprive them of this treasure even in the future, and against the enemies who cast aspersions on independence and the republic, in the name of the homeland, honor, and dignity.

With the awareness that national sovereignty is the honor, dignity, and pride of the nation, they fulfilled their responsibilities to Atatürk; against the statement, “National sovereignty is such a light that before it, chains melt, and crowns and thrones sink and vanish. Institutions built upon the captivity of nations are doomed to collapse everywhere,” they said, and demonstrated, that they would show our existence to the end against an understanding that wishes to deprive us of our homeland and enslave us to other nations. You have not taken us into account for years. We will not allow our country to deteriorate and collapse further. 

In order to determine that our youth in our country are a force and that they possess a significant potential that will determine the process from now on; I asked two questions to our youth who are studying at our university and those who have graduated from university. 

-For what reason would you vote for a party?

-For what reason would you become a member of a party?

When we examine the answers I received to these two questions, it is seen that they attach importance to the reliability of the political party leader and their subordinate staff and to the consistency of the party leader with their rhetoric, that they prioritize the country's reputation against other countries over their own futures, and that they believe that problems should be solved by states rather than free market conditions, and for this reason, they are seen to think more in a public-oriented and statist manner compared to other generations. 

Today, there are 8,620,862 voters between the ages of 18-24 and 5,940,660 voters between the ages of 25-29 in our country. Today, 27% of total voters consist of young people. In other words, if they were to form a party right now, they would be the leading party. Clichés and platitudes do not have much effect on the youth referred to as Generation Z in politics. Young people do not like the right-left distinction and do not look at events ideologically.

Generation Z wants the state to be active in solving problems and for them to be solved by the state, and they want our state to be very prestigious in the world. They think in a public-oriented and statist manner. For example; Generation Z argues that global warming is caused by human activities, and therefore, a political discourse that takes measures against global warming will be more effective on this generation. In the USA, 98% of young people access social media, especially YouTube, every day. Mastering social media appears to be an important factor in mastering the Generation Z vote. Old-style ideological messages do not interest them much, and they find them boring. Concrete, hopeful messages that will improve their daily quality of life are more widely accepted. As a result, young people; having shown that they are ready to claim and fight for their country on the path shown by Atatürk, and believing that the only true path passes through science; have re-emerged as a force in the last election.

News Source: 12punto