What kind of statesman was the Great Commander Atatürk? 'The Father of Turkish children'

Dr. Soner Yeşilbaş

Many laudatory words attributing great prestige have been spoken about Atatürk, both by his own citizens and by dignitaries from foreign countries. The only victorious commander who could be called a World Peace Ambassador. Head Teacher. A genius of diplomacy. A linguist, culture and social engineer. A lover of mathematics and geometry. A genius. A visionary with foresight. A polyglot (someone who knows and speaks many languages). A polymath (a wise person)....... and many more epithets that go on and on. But what qualities was Atatürk proud of, I wonder... At least from what we understand from what he expressed, his love for his country and his people is CLEAR:

""...it is our national ideal to continuously nurture and develop, through all kinds of means and measures, the high character, tireless diligence, innate intelligence, devotion to science, love for fine arts, and sense of national unity of our nation. This ideal, which suits the Turkish nation so well, will enable it to fulfill its civilizational duty in the path of ensuring true peace for all of humanity""

M.K.Atatürk

This great statesman, who was left an orphan at a young age, seemed to have sworn an oath to be the 'Ata' (Father) of the children of the motherland and not to leave his country orphaned. Moreover, as the victorious commander of wars, he had almost no other pride or motivation than being the 'Ata' of self-confident, respectable Turkish children who danced with the children of the world singing songs of peace:

""If there is anything extraordinary in my nature, it is that I was born as a Turk. The last breath of every Turkish individual must show that the breath of the Turkish nation will not fade, that it is eternal""

M.K.Atatürk

He wanted the children of this country not to see war, poverty, or famine. He wanted them to watch tragedy and drama in theaters. He carried the ideal of having patriotic scientists who read books. This was his ideal, which also became evident in the name of his adopted daughter.

You can feel in every one of his addresses that he loved his country with a heart as pure and clean as a child's... :

"Love of country is the strongest wind that cleanses souls of filth," the Gazi Pasha would say to express this. It is a comment by Mustafa Kemal Pasha that I believe carries such deep meaning and references that it requires psychologists, sociologists, and political scientists to write articles about it. Because everything in the universe finds its place in the human mind and intelligence through symbols and signs. Psychology and even computer science call this abstraction. The concept of 'homeland' is also a symbol. Just like the concept of God. Invisible to the eye, but known. So, if everything is a symbol, what are the closest representatives of these sacred symbols that appeal to our understanding on earth? In my opinion, they are 1. Nature, 2. Human, 3. Reason-Science-Art, and 4. Conscience. If the tripod formed by these four consciousnesses is solid, a community, and globally speaking the whole world, will not be brought to its knees.

Raising and nurturing a gentle-spirited, peaceful, principled, and conscientious human race that respects nature and contributes to it in a scientific sense is a sublime process that begins from childhood. This process is not a subject to be neglected or ignored, because the tree is bent while it is young. The saying that leaves the greatest mark on inheritance law is a Native American proverb:

"The earth was not inherited from our ancestors, we borrowed it from our children"

In other words, an assembly where children who have gone through conscious and scientific education will be the representatives of the nation in the future can only and solely establish "national sovereignty." And equipping our children in this way is a duty. The project of raising responsible, principled individuals equipped with love for the country and the citizen (the entirety of citizens who are companions in destiny), who are strict followers of science, who have signed a contract with Universal Peace and Conscientious Values, and who can interpret their environment at the level of Nature where we are companions in destiny with the people of the world, is not unique to Atatürk alone. It is an ideal shared by all mature philosophies, disciplines, and even Abrahamic religions. With this awareness, happy April 23 National Sovereignty and Children's Day.

News Source: 12punto