When a person steps into medical school, he or she is not only choosing a profession. He or she also learns to come into contact with human beings, to witness suffering and to take responsibility. Medicine is not just about dealing with the body; it requires understanding and seeing human vulnerability.
Doctors who entered politics in the early years of the Republic did not see illness as an individual problem. They considered society as a whole. They knew that while they were fighting the pandemic, they were actually fighting poverty, neglect and lack of education. Health was not an expenditure item for them, but an integral part of human dignity. Preventive medicine was not a medical choice; it was a clear moral issue.
This understanding has changed over time.
When we look at some of the medical doctors who are involved in politics today, we see that the awareness gained by their profession has been pushed to the background. Listening has been replaced by telling, understanding by persuading. However, the main thing in medicine is not to talk, but to hear. You cannot heal a patient by silencing them; neither can you heal society.
One has to accept this:
Power tests the inner world of man.
As titles increase, the inner voice can weaken.
I believe that medicine can contribute a lot to politics, because it teaches people to keep their sense of responsibility alive while intervening. It reminds us that every decision has a cost, every intervention has a response. This is exactly what politics needs the most today: a sense of responsibility.
Turkey does not need more doctor politicians.
What we need are people who can do politics with the ethics of a physician.
When a person takes power, if he can still ask himself these questions, there is hope:
“Who will pay for this decision?”
“Which wound will the step I take today enlarge or heal tomorrow?”
“Am I raising my own name in this seat, or am I leaving the ground for those who will come after me?”
A doctor who can ask these questions can also be a healer in politics.
The one who cannot ask only shifts places.
This country has been tired for a long time.
Maybe we don't need those who speak loudly anymore, but those who really hear people.