Some political actors get tough when their wrongdoings are exposed. Apologizing, admitting mistakes, stepping back are still considered weaknesses in our political culture.
But human beings can make mistakes. Error is human. Sometimes a person is wrong, sometimes he loses his temper, sometimes he succumbs to the temptation of power. But if he sees the wrong he has done and continues to defend it, then we are no longer talking about a simple mistake, but about a character flaw.
Because mistakes are one thing, character is another.
In politics today, it is not only the fighting that makes people tired. It is complacency in the face of wrong.
An injustice is spoken about, it is often the wrongdoer who gets angry. A favoritism is revealed, the person who should be held accountable goes on the attack. Because for many people, it is no longer enough to be honest, but to appear honest.
However, what you call morality emerges when it doesn't suit you. It exists when you can apply the same measure to both relatives and strangers. Honesty is like that. Not in front of a microphone, but when you are alone.
The most dangerous part of politics starts here.
After a while, people start to see their own wrongdoing as normal. He applies one yardstick to his own side and another to the other side. Then truth retreats and loyalty comes to the fore.
This is how the rot deepens.
Because when people in a country start looking not at the truth, but at who says it, trust is lost. Institutions erode. The sense of justice weakens. In the end, decent people get tired.
It is not a coincidence that the undecideds have grown so much in the polls today. People are no longer just looking for words. They are looking for sincerity. They look for credibility. They see the difference between what is said and what is done.
What is more thought-provoking is this.
The masses sometimes find a cover for wrongdoing. A shameless person is described as “strong”. However, strength is something else.
Real strength is being able to stop when you are wrong. To be able to set boundaries for yourself. To be able to say, “I made a mistake here.”.
But in today's politics there is no reward for backing down. Those who apologize are seen as weak, while those who get tough are more likely to keep their audience with them. Social media magnifies this even more. People are no longer trying to correct their opinions, they are trying not to lose the approval of the group they belong to.
As such, politics turns into a battle of identity rather than a contest of ideas.
After a while, people are not defending the truth; they are trying to protect the superiority of their side. At that point, the truth takes a back seat. Because the aim is not to understand, but to take sides.
There used to be some emotions that kept people in politics.
Like embarrassment.
Like conscience.
“It's like, ”It would be a shame.".
Today, it must be admitted that moral thresholds have weakened in many areas of society. Politics has become one of the most visible areas of this. We are desperately looking for a sense of shame.
Democracy is not only a system of winning elections. It is also a culture of setting limits on one's own side. A society survives to the extent that it can object to the wrongdoing of its own neighborhood.
Because it is not only bad rulers who rot a country, but also crowds who are silent in the face of wrong.
A society is not corrupted by the economy alone. It breaks down when people start to lose the line between right and wrong.
And sometimes people shrink not because they lose elections, but because they lose their sense of shame.
Perhaps this is why resignation is no longer a virtue in Turkish politics, but a forgotten word.
I hope that one day people in this country will respect not the one who seems the most powerful, but the one who can protect his/her conscience enough to say “I was wrong” when necessary.