Worthless seclusion instead of precious loneliness
It was only yesterday that we were boasting about ourselves. The Middle East was our responsibility. We were not only the protector of the neighborhood but also the ancestral mentor. We were the role model of the Islamic world. We were the rising star of Europe, envied by many.
We were able to scold, slam and tell off Simon Peres at Davos, Angela Merkel in her own country, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in rallies, others here and there…
Those were the days… Those really were the days…
However, they flew away like birds. Now, the entire world is saying “genocide.” The entire world is listening; the whole world is hearing… What do we say?
We say, “It will go in one ear and out the other…”
Well, if you have made up the excuse of “precious loneliness,” then you may continue to enjoy this loneliness…
We have seen once more that Turkey has been left alone. Those who refuse to bury their heads in the sand like an ostrich know this very well…
This diplomacy based on personal ambitions, individual challenges and youthful dreams have collapsed, big time…
If this rhetoric, spiced with passion, can be bought by a few domestically, outside the country it has started to be regarded as comical.
The style of defying, packaged as “standing up straight without confronting,” has become an outdated, antique theater.
While certain people continue to argue, “We did not bend; we stood high,” our international reputation is being dragged through the mud; our national currency has kneeled, watching the flying forex rates.
Gentlemen, that ugly dress of “precious loneliness” you are trying to fit this country into is falling apart at the seams. What is protruding out of the seams is huge “worthless seclusion…”
If we still say it is a day of solidarity, what we choose to stand by is not your diplomacy based on your dreams and hubris. It is our country that we stand by.
We are sure people will clean up this wreckage some day, and people will reroute Turkey’s direction again towards the West.
On that day, this worthless seclusion will transform into our becoming a valuable member of the international democratic community.
Where do women sit at the table?
The place of the women at the table is still an unsolved problem, even in the most developed neighborhoods of the world.
Nowadays, an interesting lawsuit is ongoing in Silicon Valley. Ellen Pao, a 45-year-old, has sued one of the leading “blue-chip” companies in Silicon Valley for $16 million, for being “discriminated against because she was a woman.” One example of her discrimination was that she was always seated at the side of the table and never included in important decision-making meetings.
During the case’s hearings, an unexpected development happened. Facebook CFO Sheryl Sandberg published a book, titled “Lean in: Women, Work and the Will to Lead.”
Thus, being a part of the decision-making table has become a target in the fight for women. Silicon Valley used to be known as the “Boy’s Valley” until last year.
Now this unpleasant look is changing. Giant digital companies such as Apple, Google and Intel now include in their annual activity reports the number of women working in their companies and those who have transferred into management.
The table, once a fantasy object in films like “The Postman Always Rings Twice,” is now becoming a power symbol for women, which is a good thing.
