The death of the humanity
On one side there is a close combat going on in Ukraine, between two of the most civilized countries in the world; on the other side there is Chineese- US tension over Taiwan. There is also global warming, destruction of environment, the decadence of people, food crisis, nuclear weapons, arms race… The problems are adding up and the solution is the biggest problem. “Printing money.”
The death is inevitable, yet it doesn’t need to be in the wackiest way. Many of us would like to die after a while, however in an honourable way. We can’t know if suicide is necessary, yet we can know that in that instance, something goes wrong. It’s either the individual gets the events wrong or something forces that individual for this kind of unnatural death.
The need for a goal
We need goals to achieve, meaning to dedicate ourselves. Otherwise, we commit suicide, just like the global community right now. In an age of leisure, we lack the struggle, the meaning to life and we can easily commit suicide just because of that. If a person doesn’t have “a why” to live, he basically won’t live. In the past, we had to survive; that was the meaning. Then the systematic religions, collective identities such as nationhood, class struggle, human rights have made us eager to live. Now we face a problem, being problem-free. Being in a leisure time.
In this age of free time, the time that most of the jobs are accomplished through machines including this content, the only thing we do should find a why to live. Although we rarely use modern opportunities for enlightenment and eventually drift into meaningless void; the best kind of goal is enlightenment; in other words, awakening. If we don’t, we’ll annihilate ourselves, because it’s unnecessary to live anymore.
Necessity of living
It’s neither unnecessary nor necessary to live, maybe two sides emerged because of the inbalance caused by historical instrumentalization of powers. In the middle ages they made you live for the lord, industry held your responsible for the nation. It was too serious then. Now we’re left with ourselves and we crave for those grand narratives and can’t find any. Grand narratives are no more but the grand aim of enlightenment is always with us.
It’s our duty to enlighten, awake from animalty and cruelty. We’re responsible of it, it’s the ultimate meaning for us. Just like a flying bird uses its wings, we should use our intellect; just like a fish lives in water, we should live in our heads with intellectual pleasures. Otherwise the end is near, since finding an another cause is nearly impossible.
Turkey in between
Turkey, a developing country, still has occupations preventing herself from destruction. The survival, the social change, underdevelopment from her historical rivals and countless problems keep busy. Yet, the world is going for a head on crash to self consumption and the country cannot isolate herself from the rest of the world. When elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers. The giants of politics are raging battles over ideals and grand doctrines and developing countries are trying to keep the pace.
Turkey, a country with a moderate economy and a moderate geo-political asset, is a middle class- average player. It lags begind the middle class in terms of enlightenment though. The values of the society were shaken in its struggle. As a result the society as well as other developing societies have severed their connection with knowledge. The facts are overruled by conventions. In the age of social media, such countries sustain more damage than developed ones.
Turkey can turn these disadvantages into opportunities. It lags behind the West, however it’s way ahead than many of the neighbours. The best way to enlighten is to enlighten others, this will reflect their enlightenment back to you. The country is in a great position to uplift the backwards Middle East and West Asian countries. The best way to learn a subject is teaching to subject. As Heidegger said, in all teaching teacher learns first.
If Turkey is really bad at education, how will they teach others? This is the trick. “The wound is the place where the Light enters you” says Rumi, if we address the situation through helping others; others will help us by being helped. Here is a crisis, which is actually an opportunity. Any country or a person would suffer in the “beginning.” You have to spend time and effort in every venture.
Turkey is the primary candidate for such a work. In this way she will be having a meaning to devote its life and this will be an occupation for ages for Turkish people as well. Anybody around the world should focus on the enlightenment, instead of anything else. The ignorance that she has right now will be a source of momentum, a momentum. A momentum that was lost by old Europe. Their meaning was altered, it was named as economic progress and enlightenment was just an instrument. Whereas enlightenment is the goal, economy can only be an instrument for this ideal.