“Faith is a treasure, the devil is a thief, and reason is the guardian of the treasure. If the guardian leaves, the thief will steal the treasure.”
What a grand statement. But I think it’s incomplete.
Because in our country, sometimes the treasurer doesn’t leave. The treasurer stays inside. The key is in his pocket. The ledger is in front of him. The seal is in his hand.
But by then, reason has already left the room. That’s when the thief no longer needs to break down the door.
Looking at the political debates of recent days, this thought inevitably comes to mind. Everyone is accusing everyone else. Everyone claims to be defending democracy. Everyone claims to stand by the rule of law. But for some reason, both the rule of law and democracy seem to be in a constant state of crisis.
The ruling party claims it is defending the state’s survival. The opposition claims it is defending the will of the people.
The bureaucracy claims it enforces the rules. The judiciary claims it is independent. The media claims it reports the truth. Everyone has something to say.
But the nation’s collective voice has been silent for a long time. Perhaps that is the real issue.
Because when politics becomes nothing more than a power struggle, the rival ceases to be a rival; they become a threat. And defending the rights of a rival perceived as a threat begins to be seen as an unnecessary luxury.
This is exactly the moment when the treasurer leaves the room. From that moment on, everyone declares their own thief to be an angel and the other side’s angel to be a thief.
Rules are bent to suit individuals. Principles are sacrificed to partisanship. Justice is defined by the direction of the applause.
And before it even realizes it, society becomes a spectator to a political tribal war. This is Turkey’s biggest problem in recent years, even before the economic crisis.
Inflation rates may go down. Exchange rates may go up or down. Interest rates may rise or fall. All of these change over time.
But the collapse of the collective mind is a far more devastating disaster. Because the economy functions on the basis of trust. Investment comes with trust. Society survives on the basis of trust. And trust can only be fostered through institutions.
Reason is the fuel that drives institutions. When reason disappears, only power remains. Where there is power, fear grows. Where there is fear, loyalty increases. Where there is loyalty, critical thinking diminishes. And where critical thinking ceases, error becomes state policy.
Then everyone turns to each other and asks the same question:
“How did this country end up like this?” Yet the answer was given years ago. The treasurer left. The door was left open. The thief came in.
And while we’re still arguing about who the thief is, the treasure has already started to dwindle.
It is precisely at this point that one feels compelled to turn to that invisible arrogance that has held the nation’s collective mind captive for years, to that never-ending polarization, to that blind partisanship, and say:
Damn you, Mümtaz! Because the Mümtaz in this article isn’t a specific person. It’s the collective name for everyone who prioritizes loyalty over reason.