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THIS LAND WAS MADE FOR YOU AND ME
Today's Zaman, Turkey
Oct 3 2014
CHARLOTTE MCPHERSON
October 03, 2014, Friday
I wonder how many of you watched the historic inauguration on
television of Barack Obama. Crowds packed the Lincoln Memorial to
celebrate the new presidency. Interestingly enough, I couldn't watch
the whole show on a US channel, CNN, but instead viewed it on NTV
with simultaneous Turkish translation.
Many Americans are beginning to wonder who will step up to the
plate to run as the next presidential candidates in the upcoming
US presidential election. As we all know, in America the process of
electing a president and vice-president begins long before election
day. Candidates from both major and minor political parties and
independent candidates begin to raise money and campaign at least
one year in advance of the general presidential election.
The United States and most other nations do not necessarily practice
being "one in unity" these days... If you remember the inauguration of
Obama, you will recall the theme of the concert was "we are all one,"
and so the translators from English to Turkish often repeated the
phrase "hepimiz biriz" on the Turkish news program. This resonated with
the phrase so popular in Turkey just two years before as pro-democracy
supporters protested the murder of journalist Hrant Dink -- "Hepimiz
Hrant'ız" or "Hepimiz Ermeniyiz" -- we are all Hrant, or we are
all Armenian.
This set me thinking about the state of democracy in Turkey. The Obama
inauguration concert portrayed the ideal: where not only does every
citizen have a vote, but every citizen has equal rights and an equal
share in the country. One of the songs it featured was a famous folk
song, written in 1940: "This land is your land, this land is my land,
from California to the New York island, from the redwood forest to
the Gulf Stream waters, this land was made for you and me."
Of course, even in a country about to swear in its first black
president, everyday life can fall far short of this ideal, as economic
and other issues erode equality. I often receive letters from Turkish
readers who live in Europe or the US who are struggling to come to
terms with the new culture and the way they are perceived when they
say they come from Turkey or some other Muslim nation.
As the line "This land is your land, this land is my land" was being
sung, I wondered if those accused of being members of Ergenekon
believed that the land of Turkey was made for all of its nearly 70
million population, or just for them.
There are many potential divides in US society: rich/poor, black/white,
Christian/Jew/Muslim, Republican/Democrat. The US president is seeking
to unite a potentially divided country; but his "we are all one"
theme has not been practiced as he had hoped -- particularly among
the Congress representatives on the hill.
A similar situation has been experienced in Turkey, as the population
has become more polarized and protest have been happened. Turkey
similarly has the potential for deep divides along ethnic, religious
and political lines. We, too, have progress from leaders on these
issues recently, most notably with TRT launching a channel broadcasting
in Kurdish. And the channel's motto: "we live under the same sky" --
is reminiscent of "we are all one".
Foreigners living in Turkey rarely experience prejudice or restrictions
on their civil rights. But they are often surprised at some of
the attitudes prevalent in society. When watching a news report
interviewing a member of the public about their views on a political
subject, I am often surprised to hear a university educated friend
express in disgust "and that person's vote counts the same as mine!" --
are we really all one?
A good example of the inequality in Turkey is military service:
One young male Turk complained to me, "Rich people's kids do their
military service in nice offices in Ankara." He added, "My dad
was just ordinary, so I was in the snow-covered mountains of the
southeast seeing real conflict." This raises the question -- are we
really all one?
In Turkish society, it is common knowledge that if you have friends
in high places they can help you out and give you privileges. As one
used to a different system, you may find it awkward when friends
ask you to help them, or their children, to get jobs where you
work. One foreigner I know found a great solution to helping their
friends without compromising their belief in getting a job because you
deserve it, not because you know someone. They would make sure their
friend got called for interview and then say, "You are on your own
to pass the interview, or not." A great compromise between nepotism
and meritocracy!
http://www.todayszaman.com/columnist/charlotte-mcpherson/this-land-was-made-for-you-and-me_360648.html
Today's Zaman, Turkey
Oct 3 2014
CHARLOTTE MCPHERSON
October 03, 2014, Friday
I wonder how many of you watched the historic inauguration on
television of Barack Obama. Crowds packed the Lincoln Memorial to
celebrate the new presidency. Interestingly enough, I couldn't watch
the whole show on a US channel, CNN, but instead viewed it on NTV
with simultaneous Turkish translation.
Many Americans are beginning to wonder who will step up to the
plate to run as the next presidential candidates in the upcoming
US presidential election. As we all know, in America the process of
electing a president and vice-president begins long before election
day. Candidates from both major and minor political parties and
independent candidates begin to raise money and campaign at least
one year in advance of the general presidential election.
The United States and most other nations do not necessarily practice
being "one in unity" these days... If you remember the inauguration of
Obama, you will recall the theme of the concert was "we are all one,"
and so the translators from English to Turkish often repeated the
phrase "hepimiz biriz" on the Turkish news program. This resonated with
the phrase so popular in Turkey just two years before as pro-democracy
supporters protested the murder of journalist Hrant Dink -- "Hepimiz
Hrant'ız" or "Hepimiz Ermeniyiz" -- we are all Hrant, or we are
all Armenian.
This set me thinking about the state of democracy in Turkey. The Obama
inauguration concert portrayed the ideal: where not only does every
citizen have a vote, but every citizen has equal rights and an equal
share in the country. One of the songs it featured was a famous folk
song, written in 1940: "This land is your land, this land is my land,
from California to the New York island, from the redwood forest to
the Gulf Stream waters, this land was made for you and me."
Of course, even in a country about to swear in its first black
president, everyday life can fall far short of this ideal, as economic
and other issues erode equality. I often receive letters from Turkish
readers who live in Europe or the US who are struggling to come to
terms with the new culture and the way they are perceived when they
say they come from Turkey or some other Muslim nation.
As the line "This land is your land, this land is my land" was being
sung, I wondered if those accused of being members of Ergenekon
believed that the land of Turkey was made for all of its nearly 70
million population, or just for them.
There are many potential divides in US society: rich/poor, black/white,
Christian/Jew/Muslim, Republican/Democrat. The US president is seeking
to unite a potentially divided country; but his "we are all one"
theme has not been practiced as he had hoped -- particularly among
the Congress representatives on the hill.
A similar situation has been experienced in Turkey, as the population
has become more polarized and protest have been happened. Turkey
similarly has the potential for deep divides along ethnic, religious
and political lines. We, too, have progress from leaders on these
issues recently, most notably with TRT launching a channel broadcasting
in Kurdish. And the channel's motto: "we live under the same sky" --
is reminiscent of "we are all one".
Foreigners living in Turkey rarely experience prejudice or restrictions
on their civil rights. But they are often surprised at some of
the attitudes prevalent in society. When watching a news report
interviewing a member of the public about their views on a political
subject, I am often surprised to hear a university educated friend
express in disgust "and that person's vote counts the same as mine!" --
are we really all one?
A good example of the inequality in Turkey is military service:
One young male Turk complained to me, "Rich people's kids do their
military service in nice offices in Ankara." He added, "My dad
was just ordinary, so I was in the snow-covered mountains of the
southeast seeing real conflict." This raises the question -- are we
really all one?
In Turkish society, it is common knowledge that if you have friends
in high places they can help you out and give you privileges. As one
used to a different system, you may find it awkward when friends
ask you to help them, or their children, to get jobs where you
work. One foreigner I know found a great solution to helping their
friends without compromising their belief in getting a job because you
deserve it, not because you know someone. They would make sure their
friend got called for interview and then say, "You are on your own
to pass the interview, or not." A great compromise between nepotism
and meritocracy!
http://www.todayszaman.com/columnist/charlotte-mcpherson/this-land-was-made-for-you-and-me_360648.html