Why can't politics and society in Turkey get rid of Stockholm Syndrome?

I now know very well that the books that are most beneficial for human development are those that deal with human psychology. I also know that we need to push the limits of our minds in order to break the shackles on our minds and protect them from all kinds of ideologies and dogmas. If what we call reason is not sufficiently kneaded with the right knowledge, that person can only lead a life of giving way to the cunning of ignorance. 

It is undoubtedly true that we live in the age of information. But isn't it just as difficult to reach the right information, the truth? In my articles, I aim to inform the society as much as possible, to express the truth, and to explain them in our beautiful Turkish. I wish each of us to lead a life worthy of human dignity. I believe that we should be good people and lead a virtuous life without bowing down to the cunning, the unworthy, the parasites, the exploiters, in short, the wicked.

In this context, let us briefly talk about Stockholm Syndrome. Stockholm Syndrome is defined as individuals submitting to situations that put them in a difficult situation and even wear them down, defending this situation, ignoring it, siding with the oppressor despite being victimized, and even having positive feelings towards the oppressor. This syndrome, coined by Swedish psychiatrist Nils Bejerot, was named after a failed bank robbery in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, in 1973. In August 1973, four employees of Sveriges Kreditbank were held hostage in the bank vault for six days before they were finally rescued. However, the interesting part of the case is that the hostages' feelings of loyalty towards the robbers, who were intervened by the police during their rescue, did not go unnoticed by the experts who followed the case. The hostages objected to the robbers being harmed during and after the police intervention. They even fought for the release of the robbers. This behavior of the freed hostages towards the robbers was later called the Stockholm Syndrome. 

Similar incidents have been observed in the years following this real event. However, similar feelings of loyalty have been observed not only in hostage situations, but also in passionate beliefs in political leaders or ideologies whose legitimacy and policies are questionable. This has come to be known as the Political Stockholm Syndrome. 

Political Stockholm Syndrome can create situations where people may find it difficult, or even misguided, to question and criticize their passionate beliefs in political leaders or ideologies. For this not to happen, first and foremost, members of political parties need to be able to accept that their leaders or parties may make mistakes in one way or another. However, research on the Political Stockholm Syndrome shows that this is made even more important by the influence of political leaders or ideologies on people. 

Indeed, in some cases, these political leaders or groups, aware of this influence, can make potential voters dependent on their roadmap, the ideology they follow. Their followers, in turn, may make irrational decisions, no matter how bad the situation, out of learned helplessness, the idea that the situation will get worse than it already is, and the fear of not being able to maintain the status quo. This is because human beings are creatures whose emotions can be easily manipulated. Subconscious ideas and hidden messages are constantly transmitted to us in our age of peak visual and auditory communication. 

However, each of us should base our decisions about our own future and political preferences on logical deductions and evaluations based on reason rather than our emotions. We know that in today's Turkey, politics and the media are now completely dominated by an ignorance that writhes in the trap of enmity and polarization. We are in a period where everyone speaks and no one listens to anyone. Everyone is talking, those who know and those who don't. Political leaders and their spokespersons are also talking and talking. Those who occupy the corners of the press organizations and the commentators who are the gatekeepers of the screens are also talking and talking. They repeat the same things like parrots. In this turmoil, those who speak the truth in politics, media and social life either do not get a chance or are not wanted to be listened to. The voices of reason and science, voiced by those who know the issues in depth, are unfortunately wasted amidst the dry noise characterized by hostility and ignorance. Because in the so-called discussion programs and interviews on television, the aim is not to enlighten and inform the society. The general framework is drawn according to ideological lines. As such, those who grab the microphone hit the other side and, oddly enough, benefit from it. Because it is no longer possible in Turkey to discuss an issue in a cold-blooded, rational and scientific way, outside the hostilities, fronts and blind beliefs of the supporters. 

What scares me at this point is that this attitude and behavior, which originates from politics and dominates the media, also affects private lives. You witness many friends and acquaintances destroying their relationships in the name of political and ideological confrontation. But life is neither only politics nor only ideology. Nor is it competition and a fight for supremacy. The love, friendship, sharing, unity, loyalty and solidarity of private life are the beauties of life. Individuals, the building blocks of social life, should be able to see that these beauties cross-cut the problems and relationships imposed by politics, ideology and public life. 

In the meantime, going back to the Stockholm Syndrome, the only way to overcome this syndrome, which can be summarized simply as being influenced by the powerful and the oppressor, is through reason and logic. There is no doubt that this syndrome is much more important, deeper and more complex than the simple fact that victims who are taken hostage support the tyrants who have taken them hostage. But in essence, falling in love with your executioner is tantamount to submission. To live a life without submission is to put an end to this love. 

With respectful love