Maybe it was a stereotype in our minds. We engraved it in our memories as they taught us while we were sitting. But it was wrong. Actually, how different was the republic? It was the oath we recited in the mornings in primary school, it was the National Anthem of the Republic. It was the lifestyle of my soul where I shouted my freedom with my free self. It was my mother, my father, my lover, my school… In short, it was a part of my life.
Isn’t it nice to live in this rose garden? Freely, as you wish… It’s nice to do whatever you want. But we also need to stop and look back. The way you came, right behind you. Are you aware of the foggy weather there and the pain? Do you see your grandfather protecting you and your future with his standard in one hand and his bayonet in the other? Now go back to the front. A road full of roses. Behind you, dust and smoke, traces of a fight for freedom. The thorny path you see is the path that brings you to this rose garden and keeps your feet firmly on the ground.
Just sit down. Sit down and think. What pain and suffering has been endured for this cause. What wars have been fought all over Anatolia to be a little free and not to say what we think in a low voice. Think of your grandfather’s brave mother who did not shed a single tear while sending him off to the army. And thinking about it, look in front of you, look firmly, right in front of you. Don’t worry about what anyone says. Close your ears to bigoted thoughts and hold the hand of those you see in your path. But don’t forget what happened behind the scenes. His past, his history… That’s where he came to this path.
We are the children of a republic that is not easy to win. If you want to protect your republic, never stop. Start from where you sit, from the chalk you use, from the path you walk, from everything you look at, see and hear. Research what you don’t know and announce it to everyone who needs to hear it. Raise the flag as high as you can, raise your voice as high as you can while singing the National Anthem. This is how you can protect the Republic, not by empty shouting that you are a republican.