“We cannot assume that we are living distinct from the World by closing our eyes. We cannot circle our country and can live irrelevantly. On the contrary, we will live on the civilization area as a nation. This is possible by science. We will be anywhere where the science is present”. These lines are beyond an empire. It is quoted from the definition of civilization and westernization of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the leader of a Republic, Republic of Turkey, entrancing emprises with his intelligence…
1881.. The World did not have any information about the fact that person born would be the future of a state. Certainly a Republic with a perfect geopolitics location connecting Asia and Europe was born with the sun. A Hero carrying a nation on his shoulders, building the red flag by his intelligence, Ataturk was born. Of course, his preparations in terms of thinking started during his early education life.
Eveybody knows that it was hard time, those ages. A process that the power of Ottoman started to weaken, the country headed towards the internal disorders dominated. Disruptive pressure of the external World on Ottoman and variety of ethnic origin, religion and races in the country reached to the dimension not being controlled and this brought a period not to be overcome for the ruling. Invasions from all around were carried on. A hero was born for this dark condition. We called him Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, but centuries were generous to him, they called him as the Supreme hero.. and centuries held the intelligence for Turkey..!
One of the strong names written in the history… Mustafa Kemal Ataturk with the statement of a famous French; “Not every nation deserves such a leader.” What kind of a leader was he that the world remembers his name first when we say Turkey today? Thanks to his intelligence the Ottoman rescued the lands during the most difficult times. First of all, he learnt why we were slow as a nation very well. He understood the defects of the East, desperateness, superiorities of the west. He knew our attempts in the recent history and the reasons of failures.
The first thing to be remembered when we say 19th Century is of course industry revolution however, the Ottoman was late. On the other hand, what did we do during the political reforms? While we had reactionists, Eastern institutions, we established progressive, Western organizations and wanted to make them live together. We though that two opposite systems could live side by side in the living order and especially education, law. Of course westernization could not be achieved in this way.
Therefore, there was a different world at the window of Ataturk. Based on intelligence, reality, science, virtue and freedom of thought, enlightenment, sun. Wasn‘t it the basis of the West? Ataturk said that the dominance belongs to the nation. He accepted thing uniting the individuals as the national link. Therefore civilized laws for dominating the nature, establishing economy, industry, directing the society started to be enacted. To be a Westerner is to be civilized, from our century?
Considering this, the world of middle age did not deserve it. The civilized world of today, West deserves it. Secularizing is dominant there.. The man of this age is under the influence of science based on experiments, scientific technique deeply. A new society opinion, a new life perception appeared.
Comparing the west and the east also involves today’s Western World and Middle Age.. however, scholastic opinion of the Middle Age should be overcome and the industry revolution should be caught. Industrialization was one of the main targets to be one of the countries heading towards economic development and future independency.. The answer of question that why was the United Kingdom a great power? Would be the forward thinking, using and assessment the opportunities in hand for the development of the country, solving the system turning the world prior.. Ataturk took them as the route and added it “We cannot stop, we will go forward. The civilization is such forceful fire that it burns the ones opposing and ruins” and finally red flag symbolizes the most beautiful of the victories.
To be Ataturk was having such a window seeing the center of the world clearly during such dark period. While eyes of all people in the country were tilted hopelessly, staring towards the sun was the determination and that made him Ataturk. While diplomatic relations were dissolved, submission to the other states darkened the independence, thing that made him different was his intelligence that would enable him to establish the country over again and to mirror a diplomacy that the world would applaud loudly.
According to him, to be human is to be civilized, Ataturk knowing that people could not be civilized without being a human, a Westerner, does not separate culture and civilization to the contrary of the ones thinking superficially. For him, when we say the culture we should imply the composition of actions that a society can carry out in state, opinion and economic life and this is the civilization.. the intelligence to establish the country over again is the republic alone..!
Ataturk had infinite excitement for being civilized, Westerner. The question emphasized by Ataturk during an era when the Western civilization affected the entire world with science, technique, thinking and perception was that “Which nation wishing the civilization but not going West is that?” We know that throughout the history the movement that Turkish people have been following is from east to west all the time. There are various countries however civilizations are unique. And for a nation to develop, it should join this unique civilization. Our opinion, mentality will be civilized.
And today Turkey being a great bridge between Asia and Europe is the portrait of westernization and civilization opening to the Middle East and Europe and Asia with the rich perspective of the past not only in geographical terms. In the landscape of countries in Asia and Middle East proves that Turkey as a part of those geographies is the country describing Westernization in the most beautiful way. For it is a country living with the awareness of its past..
It is possible to see these traces in the peaceful policy towards Syria in the lights of values of its history and diplomacy heritage. On the other hand, being a sensitive country trying to be the solution unit for the conflicts between Gaza and Israel, shows that Westernization is not disengagement from Islam on the contrary it is present as an Islam state. And I believe that with the words of Ataturk, civilization will raise the Republic. The definite decision of Turkish nation is to progress in the way of civilization without stopping…
