Worlds apart
The world is going through an amazing transformation. At the end of this transformation something very beautiful will emerge. The countries that complete this transition will move into a totally different era from the rest. It is a transformation that even China and Iran realize, and yet Turkish authorities are totally oblivious to.
The signs of this transformation are hidden in the news we receive. We hear U.S. President Barack Obama encouraging more people to be engineers and coders. We see him pushing forward reforms in the health care system. We hear him complaining about the high number of U.S. citizens in prison. He calls out for green legislation. He is making peace with longtime enemies. In a viral video we see him waiting under the rain patiently and holding an umbrella for his stuff. In a different video we see Obama joking with a protestor who is shouting at him in the middle of his speech. We understand that he is envisioning a more technologically-oriented, green and humane world.
We can see none of the above-mentioned behavioral patterns in Turkey. If you don’t believe me, try to shout at our president in the middle of his speech on live TV and see what happens.
In Obama we see a leader who is stripped of his ego and who is empowering.
Maybe it is all an act. Maybe he is just reading the destination the world is heading to. But his actions should have lessons for us all. In the technology driven information and knowledge age, the U.S. president is not necessarily the most powerful man in the world. Bill Gates, Richard Branson, Elon Musk, Steve Wozniak, Sergey Brin, Julian Assange and all the other pioneers are just as influential to the world as Obama and probably even more so. He knows this and he is aligning himself and thus the state with the new direction these free sprits take. These people went beyond the boundaries of the nation-state system and became truly global through advanced technology and/or unheard of business models.
Furthermore, all of these guys are so rich that they want to spend their money on something useful to mankind. They are trying to change the fate of Africa; they are trying to revolutionize the modes of transportation, education, innovation and every other process that constitutes your daily life. Their German counterparts are building the future with them, as Germans are pushing for Industry 4.0. China was the fastest country to adopt renewable energies nationwide and they are spending on basic science research more than any other country.
The Northern European countries long ago established heaven on earth and they are just improving their situation every year. Finland is the best country in education; Iceland will be the first country that will use 100 percent renewable energy in the World; Denmark is the most peaceful country in the world, while Canada is second. The countries that are full members of CERN will probably acquire the necessary technology for cold fusion in the next 20 years.
Japan is one of the top countries in the number of patents each year. South Korea is paying teachers as much as doctors to keep the best talents in the education system so future generations can match the current generation’s success in world tech domination. Chevrolet announced today the 2016 Volt – the next generation of the plug-in hybrid model that will deliver 53 miles of driving range from its improved lithium-ion batteries; the total range is 420 miles, matching the pure gasoline engine. The same goes for the new BMW, Renault and Mercedes models. The auto revolution is about to be completed. In ten years there will be self-driving cars running totally on clean energy.
And where is Turkey?
We are way behind.
The saddest thing is that our “leaders” have no intention of catching up with the rest of the world. They are too busy building palaces and fighting with everyone to establish their own dominance. If our leaders will not change their behavior and priorities we will stay behind.