A society reveals itself most in times of disaster. Because disaster removes the make-up and leaves the reality naked. And in that nakedness, two different mentalities come face to face in all their openness: One accepts nature as a given and assumes responsibility. The other consecrates nature as fate and evades responsibility.<\/p>\n
This distinction is not a simple cultural difference; it is directly a matter of civilization.<\/p>\n
Japan is one of the clearest examples of this distinction. There, nature is not a force to which meaning is attributed; it is a calculated reality. An earthquake is not a message, not a warning, not a \u201cpunishment\u201d at all. An earthquake is a measured, analyzed and managed phenomenon.<\/p>\n
So the first question asked in Japan at the time of the disaster is: This question is not simple. This question is the harshest criticism a society can direct at itself. Because in this question is the will not to look outside for the guilty. It contains the courage to put the responsibility on man and not on God.<\/p>\n In our case, a completely different reflex kicks in at the same time.<\/p>\n The first sentence at the beginning of the wreckage is not technical, but theological: This word is not innocent. It is not only an expression of faith; it is also a powerful escape mechanism. Because the moment you say \u201cfate\u201d, the questioning stops. Responsibility is suspended. The perpetrator becomes invisible.<\/p>\n And that is precisely why this word is recirculated after every disaster.<\/p>\n The contractor's missing rebar, the inspector's signature, the manager's negligence... it all melts into this one word. There is a crime but no guilty party. There is destruction, but the perpetrator is unknown.<\/p>\n This is a form of self-deception of a society.<\/p>\n The miracle narrative is a complementary element of this deception. Because the miracle covers the truth. It directs people's attention not to those responsible, but to exceptional stories of salvation. Thus, the system is not questioned, only emotions are managed.<\/p>\n So it is necessary to say this clearly: And as long as this tool is used, nothing changes.<\/p>\n Because a society that believes in miracles does not fix the system. Japan Where Responsibility is Institutionalized<\/strong><\/p>\n To dismiss Japan as a \u201cdisciplined society\u201d is to miss the point. Discipline is the result. The real issue is the transformation of responsibility from a culture to an institution.<\/p>\n There, the earthquake code is not a book; it is a contract. It is not technology that makes this difference, but mindset.<\/p>\n When a building collapses in Japan, it is not seen as a \u201cmisfortune\u201d. The chain is unraveled: who designed it, who approved it, who supervised it, who turned a blind eye? Responsibility is distributed not to a single point but to the entire process, but it is not rendered invisible. Each link is named. Each name is accountable.<\/p>\n Because there the principle is unquestionable: This is why the strongest post-disaster reflex in Japan is institutional, not emotional. Public pressure accelerates legal processes. Professional sanctions can end individual careers. Reputation can disappear overnight. Because the source of reputation is not power; it is responsibility.<\/p>\n \u201cThe so-called \u201dculture of shame\u201c is in fact not a romanticized tradition but a harsh social control mechanism. What happens when a task is not fulfilled is not just a lack of fulfillment, but a collapse of reputation. This is why people do their duties not because they \u201dhave to\", because they know the cost of not doing it.<\/strong> They do.<\/p>\n In our case, the picture is reversed.<\/p>\n There is a regulation, but its implementation is arbitrary. And the most critical difference: That's why our system works to absorb failure, not to prevent it. So it comes into play after the destruction has happened. Before that, it is mostly silent.<\/p>\n This is why discussing Japan's religious structure is superficial. Shintoism, Buddhism or non-belief rates do not explain the essence of the matter. What is decisive is that this society does not sacralize nature, but takes it seriously.<\/p>\n They do not substitute God for nature. We often do the opposite.<\/p>\n And that is precisely why, of two societies that experience the same natural phenomenon, one rises up while the other is buried under the rubble.<\/p>\n 1999, Izmir, Mara\u015f: Not Repeated Disaster, but Institutionalized Negligence<\/strong><\/p>\n If the same kind of destruction is repeated, for the same reasons, with the same results, it is no longer a disaster - it is a pattern.<\/p>\n The 1999 Marmara earthquake could have been a milestone for this country. Not only the earth's crust collapsed, but also supervision, planning and accountability. The promise made that day was clear: \u201cNothing will ever be the same again.\u201d The intervening years have been a period of progress on paper and habits on the ground. Texts have thickened, enforcement has thinned. Rules increased, exceptions multiplied. The system learned to tolerate mistakes instead of preventing them.<\/p>\n The 2020 Izmir earthquake once again reminded us of the price of this tolerance. The buildings that collapsed had one thing in common: negligence. Weak ground, illegal floors, inadequate supervision. In other words, the risk magnified not by nature but by man. The 2023 Mara\u015f earthquakes turned into a threshold that ended the debate. This was not just a disaster; it was a test of the system. And the system collapsed at the most critical moment. Tens of thousands of casualties were the result not only of violence but also of unpreparedness, lack of supervision and impunity.<\/p>\n What is painful here is not only the destruction, but also the reflexes that remain unchanged even after the destruction.<\/p>\n Again, miracle stories came to the fore. But the truth is simple: In our case, this chain does not dissolve; it evaporates. The result is a picture where everyone is a little guilty. That is why 1999, Izmir and Mara\u015f are not separate events; they are parts of the same story. And we say the same sentence every time: But the lesson is not in remembering, but in sanctioning.<\/p>\n Unless this is done, each new earthquake will be a continuation of an old crime.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Discourse of \u201dDestiny\": The Elimination of Moral Responsibility<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cThe word \u201ddestiny\" is an expression of faith when used in the right place. When used in the wrong place, it becomes an evasion of responsibility. Our problem is not belief; it is the systematic misuse of this word.<\/p>\n To call it \u201cfate\u201d when a building collapses due to an engineering error is to naturalize the error. And every naturalized mistake is repeated. Because nature cannot be questioned, whereas human beings can be questioned. At this point, the discourse of \u201cfate\u201d makes the questionable unquestionable.<\/p>\n This is not a simple language choice. Because the moment you say \u201cdestiny\u201d, this is what happens: And so negligence ceases to be a crime; it becomes a misfortune.<\/p>\n But the truth is clear: Each of these are conscious or unconscious choices. This is where the collapse of societies begins: It is precisely along this line that Japan's difference becomes apparent. There, nature and human responsibility are separated. An earthquake is the work of nature; the extent of destruction is the work of man. Since this distinction is clear, the account is also clear.<\/p>\n In our case, this distinction is blurred. So the issue is not just technical, it is intellectual. If you call negligence \u201cfate\u201d, And nothing that is believed to be unchangeable changes.<\/p>\n At this point a harsh reality must be faced: The miracle blesses the outcome. And in such an equation, there is neither accountability nor accountability.<\/p>\n But civilization requires the opposite: Otherwise, society starts to live not the reality but the comforting stories it produces.<\/p>\n And those stories always end the same: The Measure of Civilization is the Courage to Bear Responsibility<\/strong><\/p>\n There is no need to embellish the debate anymore. The point is clear: this is not a matter of technology, it is not a matter of faith. It is a direct is a matter of responsibility.<\/strong><\/p>\n The difference with Japan is not just that it builds better. The real difference is that someone has to pay for a bad building. Because the system there does not tolerate mistakes; it punishes them. Negligence is not an exception; it is an area of zero tolerance.<\/p>\n In our case, the picture is the opposite.<\/p>\n It would be a mistake. And then the same error is reproduced.<\/p>\n This cycle is no coincidence. It is a form of governance. That's why we need to stop saying that: No, no, no. Because you cannot prevent earthquakes. And if you are not doing it, it is not a desperation; it is a choice.<\/p>\n The hardest lesson Japan has taught us is this: It is the application of rules without exception. If people in a society know that they will not pay for what they do, If responsibility is not named in a society, If disasters are still explained as \u201cfate\u201d in a society, We have to stop fooling ourselves.<\/p>\n We were warned in 1999. And if we are still in the same place, it is no longer ignorance - it is choice.<\/p>\n The last word should not be flowery; it should be clear:<\/p>\n Societies that expect miracles produce debris. The Miracle Narrative: A Society's Form of Self-Deception<\/p>","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":284479,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[286],"tags":[289],"class_list":{"0":"post-284478","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-yazarlar","8":"tag-manset"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284478","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=284478"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284478\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":284480,"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284478\/revisions\/284480"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/284479"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=284478"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=284478"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=284478"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n\u201cWhere did we go wrong?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n\u201cFate.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nThe miracle is not only a consolation; it is also an ideological tool.<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nHe just accepts the outcome.<\/p>\n
\nAuditing is not a procedure; it is a will to sanction.
\nNegligence is not a mistake; it is a crime.<\/p>\n
\nNeglect is the work of man, not nature.<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nThere is supervision but it is weakly binding.
\nThere are sanctions, but they are not permanent.<\/p>\n
\nNegligence is coded as a \u201cmisfortune\u201d rather than a crime.<\/p>\n
\nIt puts the human at the center of responsibility.<\/p>\n
\nIt didn't happen - because it was the mindset that needed to change, not the regulations.<\/p>\n
\nBut the reflex has not changed: \u201cgreat catastrophe\u201d, \u201cfate\u201d, \u201cprovidence\u201d. A destruction with a perpetrator was translated into a language without a perpetrator.<\/p>\n
\nEmotions ruled again.
\nAgain the responsibility was distributed.<\/p>\n
\nBefore a building is demolished, many decisions are taken.
\nEach of those decisions carries a signature.
\nAnd every signature is a potential liability.<\/p>\n
\nThe contractor becomes invisible.
\nThe auditor is deleted.
\nThe manager is not spoken for.<\/p>\n
\nBut this picture, in effect, produces this: No one is responsible.<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nImpunity is an invitation to the next neglect.
\nRemember, it is preparation for the next destruction.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cWe will learn lessons.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nThis is a moral choice.<\/p>\n
\nThe perpetrator becomes invisible.
\nResponsibility is suspended.
\nThe need for accountability disappears.<\/p>\n
\nIt is not fate when a column is missing.
\nIt is not fate when a ground survey is not done.
\nIt is not fate when an auditor turns a blind eye.<\/p>\n
\nAnd every choice produces results.<\/p>\n
\nWhere they attribute outcomes to fate and decisions to invisibility.<\/p>\n
\nNeglect is intertwined with nature.
\nAnd this blurring helps the system to justify itself.<\/p>\n
\nHow a society names reality determines its future.<\/p>\n
\nyou would actually say:
\n\u201cThat doesn't change.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nWhen the miracle narrative is combined with the discourse of fate, a powerful ideology of irresponsibility emerges.<\/p>\n
\nDestiny makes the process invisible.<\/p>\n
\nGetting the nomenclature right.
\nPutting the blame in the right place.
\nAnd most importantly, personalize responsibility.<\/p>\n
\nDebris.<\/p>\n
\nThe price becomes uncertain.
\nTime passes.
\nMemory is erased.<\/p>\n
\nA system in which responsibility is distributed, obscured and eventually eliminated.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cWe must learn to live with the reality of earthquakes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nWhat we need to learn is not earthquakes.
\nResponsibility.<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nBut you can prevent destruction.<\/p>\n
\nCivilization is not a victory over nature.
\nCivilization is man's intolerance of his own mistakes.<\/p>\n
\nNeglect is unforgivable.
\nAnd most importantly: accountability.<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nno regulation will work in that society.<\/p>\n
\njustice cannot be established in that society.<\/p>\n
\nprogress in that society is just an illusion.<\/p>\n
\nWe were reminded in Izmir.
\nWe faced each other in Mara\u015f.<\/p>\n
\nSocieties that sanctify responsibility build civilization.<\/strong><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"