Perhaps we desire not to be free

Former Istanbul University Professor Dr. Hasan Yazıcı wrote about the voter's attitude for 12punto.

Yazıcı's article is as follows:

There is an event causing astonishment all over the world. Everyone admits that the current economic situation of the US is enviable. Beyond being the country that has been able to get its affairs in order the fastest after the COVID pandemic, America is on a very successful economic trajectory compared to the years before the pandemic. Again, everyone admits that the Biden administration has a large share in this success. While this is the case, we see that as the presidential elections to be held in the autumn approach, the polls are resulting in favor of Trump in many regions. On the other hand, not a day goes by without lawsuits being filed against Trump again for charges such as election interference, hush money payments, falsification of documents, etc. Just 1-2 weeks ago, the gentleman was sentenced to a minimum fine of 355 million dollars for finalized commercial crimes. However, a significant portion of the American public does not really give up on saying “Trump, and Trump again.” 

Let us return to our country from here. The President also admits that our economic situation, to try to say it without breaking courtesy, is not good at all. However, still, a little less or a little more than half of our people are not very dissatisfied with those who have been governing the country, primarily the President, for over 20 years. Is there a concept called social masochism? I do not know. Well, I know this. There is a concept in scientific method called Occam's razor. Brother Occam is an English thinker who lived in the 14th century and says: “The simplest explanation for any problem is usually the most correct one.”

Excuse me, but in my opinion, to be elected to govern a society or to remain there in the US or in our country, there is no real need for such a good economy or anything like that. Look, the question of whether a proper justice system is perhaps not needed either comes to your mind right away, doesn't it? You rascals, admit it, this came to your mind, not mine. 

As you know very well, we are not or the US is not the only country that has similar problems with its leaders. Furthermore, it is quite difficult to find a country that does not have more or less similar problems with its leaders. In many countries from the Far East to South and North America, either authoritarian leaders are in power or a significant portion of these countries' people are chasing such leaders. So why? Or was Plato right 2400 years ago in not liking democracy at all, which ensures that the will of the simple majority prevails? After all, the illustrious professors of my country recommended that Kenan Evren read Plato immediately after the 1980 coup, probably so that the gentleman would not be too ashamed of what he had done, and 3 years later, they presented him with an honorary law degree without any shame or embarrassment. No, I am not an enemy of democracy or anything. I wholeheartedly agree with Churchill's words in a speech where he first said “Democracy is the worst form of government” and then added “except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time!”    

Various reasons are considered as the cause of this almost monolithic longing for authoritarian rule that I mentioned. Among these are the excessive development of technology in our age, replacing direct human contribution in public services and creativity; social and ethnic incompatibilities, including religious ones, caused by the ever-increasing globalization in almost every area of life, and the exploitation of these same negatives by opportunistic politicians; along with all these, both the disruption of nature's balance and the reckless consumption of its resources, or the possibility that these negatives I keep listing can come together in various alloys and proportions. However, I still think we need to look for a common denominator in all these assumptions. Seeking the answer to the question of whether we take a pathological pleasure in our chosen leaders making our lives miserable is, as I mentioned above, not really my place. Psychiatrist and sociologist friends might be interested. 

I say, perhaps the words of the famous French thinker Jean-Paul Sartre, “Man is condemned to be free,” lie beneath the reason for this longing for authority in today's societies, which is becoming truly very unpleasant. Mankind, who has been able to give everything, including his life, in the pursuit of being free throughout history, can sometimes, and with great selfishness, give up on making decisions. This is the real reason for the misery we endure.

News Source: 12punto