The Shepherd's Shepherd and Our Deteriorating Equality of Opportunity

Naturally, the expectation and goal of every human being is to go forward and rise in their work. Nowadays, and in fact in every period, people can find a place for themselves in high positions in terms of office and civil service in time and in an instant. There is a famous saying, "Both snakes and eagles can be found in high places". It is a good saying. You can get to the heights somehow. But sometimes when we look at those at the heights, we see that some crawl there and others fly there. All their behaviours and actions already tell us this. This is actually the case with the snake and the eagle. 

When the snake climbs to a high point among the steep cliffs, it has to crawl because it has no wings. It has to struggle with streams, hills, vegetation, various topographical obstacles, heat and cold until it reaches the height it will reach. It will be able to overcome all possible obstacles by crawling and by spending a great amount of energy to overcome the height difference, and it will be able to reach that high peak over a long period of time. This journey requires a long time. It requires perseverance and patience. 

The Eagle at the height, using its natural ability to fly, flaps its wings in delight, watching the landscape below out of the corner of its eye, perhaps looking for a prey it may encounter. Without encountering any obstacle other than a strong wind or heavy rain, it easily and quickly reaches the desired high point, the summit.

We, as humans, behave like the snake and the eagle. By looking at the position, position and status of a person, we have no difficulty in understanding who he is, whether he is a snake or an eagle. All the people we meet in life, such as businessmen, doctors, teachers, officers, artisans, etc., have a road map that they have lived, followed and expected to be followed while reaching their current position. 

A child of a wealthy family grows up benefiting from the opportunities of his/her family. He/she is always well nourished and is born in conditions that will allow him/her to live a life in front of what he/she eats and behind what he/she does not eat. He can take lessons from private tutors, receive a good education, and live in good living conditions. At the end of a childhood and adolescence spent effortlessly enjoying all the blessings of the world, with the support of his wealthy and influential family, he may begin to occupy a high position and even manage a company owned by his family as a reward for the quality education he has received. 

Another person may not be as fortunate as the child of this wealthy family. He may not be born with a honey spoon in his mouth. He may be born to a poor family in a remote village in Anatolia. He can get as much education as his family can afford, he can benefit from whatever education opportunity he is fortunate enough to get in public schools. If the teachers are good, that is his luck. Until the end of secondary education, he can receive an education as good as the schools of the district or province where he is located. The education that can be received in Hakkari is as good as the conditions of Hakkari. Along with education, the condition of the home is also important. If there are no newspapers read in the house where he was born, and if there is no means of communication such as radio or TV to keep him informed about the world, his situation will be even worse. Moreover, he/she may have to struggle with the difficult conditions and hardships of life. For example, the water used at home is carried from the fountain in the centre of the village, and bathing can be done as much as the stove heats up. His diet may be such that he eats whatever he can find. He may have to walk to and from school in snow and winter. Even finishing high school under these conditions can sometimes be considered a success. It is only with a good university education that a young man who has grown up under these conditions can benefit from equal opportunities and reach high positions. That is why university exams and the rush to earn a decent place in our country are always for this reason. A good university is a chance for a good future. The "snake" can continue its progress by crawling towards the heights with the education it will receive from the university where it crawls. If there is no university, the chance to lead a life beyond horizontal crawling is considered almost impossible for that young person.

The majority of our young people, those born with a golden spoon in their mouths and those born with a wooden spoon, have the chance to come together in our universities on their journey of life and look at the future side by side. Those who come from the provinces experience a culture shock in their first years at university. They have the opportunity to say hello to social life, the richness of the city and the opportunities of life with university life. For our young people who have grown up in impossibilities, university and the life around it is an opportunity if they can use it correctly. On the one hand, they have to be successful in their studies, on the other hand, they have to get used to the complex life and hustle and bustle of the city. Because the real hustle and bustle of life is not in his hometown, but in this city where he is studying, in these environments. If he is going to be successful, if he is going to rise and get somewhere in this life, these are the conditions. He is expected to adapt to this. This university education will be decisive in overcoming the obstacles of life with a determined work. He should appreciate this education and try to learn everything from his teachers without wasting his time. He did not give up until that point, and he won this school by studying well. After that, it is actually easier. He will move forward without getting frustrated.

The greatest characteristic of those who rise by crawling is that they know that they have no other branches to hold on to but themselves. If they will succeed, they will succeed on their own, they will reach the highest point with their own effort, labour, patience and perseverance. Those who are born with a honey spoon in their mouths, on the other hand, always look for their wealthy families behind them, and think that they cannot do much without their support. They lack self-confidence. Of course, there may be exceptions, but this is the general outlook. 

This self-confidence gives everyone the stance they deserve and manifests itself in the behaviour they exhibit towards their surroundings. In the human relations of young people who come to the same working environment in these two different ways, this difference is also seen by others over time. It is observed that the person who absorbs the success he/she has achieved by digesting it, without capriciousness or jealousy crisis, is more reliable in his/her communication with his/her work and the people he/she is in contact with, and his/her communication is based on human feelings. Among these young people, those who receive support from their family and environment may be ahead of others in terms of position and position. Especially if he/she is a determined, hardworking and patient young person, it is not even possible for him/her to be more successful than the other. In a way, with the difference of starting life one-zero ahead, the possibility of being ahead in professional life may be high. In any case, I do not want to be unfair to those who have reached the top without labour and hardship. While serving in high positions that they have reached effortlessly and under good conditions, they can exhibit good behaviour to their colleagues they work with. Especially if the family they grew up in is a family with a good culture and good morals, and if they have succeeded in raising their children in this manner without spoiling them, of course, it is another good thing that such people add value to society. 

What I am trying to emphasise here is that we should not be under the impression that all of them got to where they are today under equal conditions by looking at their current positions, positions and positions. Each individual has a life story of his/her own, and all of them are quite different and valuable from each other. Both the hard and difficult ones and the easy and labourless ones are the reality of our country and even of many developing countries. The high point we need to reach as a society and as individuals should be to build a country where all privileges are abolished and equality of opportunity is recognised equally for all. We need to be a country where new "Shepherds' Shepherds" can become president again, where they can grow and live with this hope. Only in such a country, I believe that we can provide the necessary environment for our grandchildren, whom we want to live and grow up in peace and comfort.

Stay with love and respect