When a whole generation is scared off politics…
I will be providing you a tremendously spectacular analysis. There are some famous names in it by the way!
You know why we ended up this way? We had the 1980 military coup and our generations were frightened by politics and state affairs.
Families said to their kids, “This is serious stuff, don’t get involve with it.”
That’s why those brilliant people born at the end of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s concentrated on their education and immediately entered the private sector. Some became bankers, managers, entrepreneurs, journalists and even artists.
For instance; I can count several names who were extremely successful in the art and entertainment business despite the fact that they did not receive an art education at their alma mater, Boğaziçi University, one of Turkey’s most difficult universities to enter.
Cem Yılmaz, Teoman, Nil Karaibrahimgil...
I can count several successful names among bankers, CEO, businesspeople, writers who graduated at the same period I studied there. But I cannot count even one politician!
Can you imagine? We are talking about a university which does not have a curriculum for art, but there are at least four artists (when I include myself) that have graduated from this university in a period of seven or eight years who are known the nation over.
Despite the fact that there is a political science department, there is not a single (countrywide known) politician or high-level civil servant!
From those years, two groups of people largely entered state administration, bureaucracy and politics:
The first group consists of those who were injured – either himself or a member of his/her family by the old system – who has a complaint; who has a problem or who has a cause, such as the Islamist segment, Kurds, etc.
-The second group consists (unfortunately we only realized it now) of those who had a very secret agenda; who had a different purpose in entering state service, those who are the culprits of July 15, those who are now hiding, denying or busy trying to escape abroad.
Don’t scare away your children from entering politics. No matter which view they endorse, encourage them to enter the state, political party organizations and non-governmental organizations...When it comes to those of us who have not done so because we were discouraged, see where we are!
Encourage them so that our future is governed by brilliant people that represent all of the 79 million of this country, because currently we have now recalled as a nation that we have a “common cause.”
Entertainment world happens to champion meritocracy
This is the best side of my profession. In our case, a bad player, a bad singer or a bad director comes out into the open. That’s only natural since you perform your profession in front of the people. You can’t dare to have your untalented cousin perform in front of an audience. Try to have your protégé write a comedy. I’d like to read that screenplay!
We have no exam system where you can steal the questions. The test is the screen, the stage, the curtain! Hundreds of thousands, millions watch it and would give the most merciless, objective grades if you fail. Especially on comedies! If you are not funny, my friend, you are simply not funny!
From time to time, some would dare to have his/her acquaintance enter the sector, but not only would they end up humiliated, they wouldn’t go far.
This unrelenting meritocratic system which does not accept error needs to be spread to all the institutions in the country.
Leave aside nepotism, Turkey, and come to me with talent, intelligence and competence! You have got plenty of that!