THE THIRD MONDAY OF EVERY JANUARY
06 02 2012
Governor of Texas Rick Perry has criticised the government in Turkey and claimed that examining the ties of such a government with the NATO would not be enough, that Turkey should be expelled from the NATO and all US foreign aid should be cut.
According to Perry, the government in Turkey turns a blind eye to honour killings. Also, Turkey is being ruled by “Islamic terrorists”. Perry has said “Americans do not want foreign aid to be sent to a country which turns a blind eye on honour killings.” Furthermore, according to Perry, Turkey has not won the USA’s confidence. It is, in any case, becoming increasingly distant to the west. For all these reasons, Governor Perry has said that Turkey’s membership to the NATO should be reassessed.
Both the US Department of State and the Secretary-General of the NATO have given the necessary reaction as clearly as possible. Still it is a highly difficult problem to solve. For it would be expected that someone who has entered a race to become the President of the USA, whether this person is a governor or not, should have some knowledge of the subjects under discussion.
Perhaps Perry cannot know all the details, which is natural. However, he should have some basic knowledge about Turkey. Soon after these ridiculous remarks, Perry dropped out from the Republican nomination race. Whether he withdrew or not, leaving everything else aside, it is difficult to explain how a man, who holds the important position of Governor of Texas, could be so ignorant. Perhaps Turkey’s publicity abroad is inadequate. Perhaps the US educational system is weak. Internet access in Texas might be insufficient, slow or expensive. Perhaps there may be a way of explaining this performance by Governor Perry.
Leaving all this aside, let us draw attention to another detail that is present by coincidence. The Governor of Texas Rick Perry has made his prejudiced statements about Turkey on the third Tuesday of January. This date has no meaning beyond the already discussed charade. However, for a significant part of the USA, the third Monday of January is very well known and meaningful. On the third Monday of every January, the USA commemorates Martin Luther King.
As a Baptist minister and the leader of American civil rights movement, Martin Luther King spent his life opposing violence. King gave his life for racial equality. In 1964, he won the Nobel Peace Prize. He made such a great contribution to the USA with his egalitarian opinions that he was posthumously given the Presidential Liberty Prize in 1977 by then President Jimmy Carter, 9 years after his death. From this year onwards, the third Monday of January has been celebrated as Martin Luther King Day in a part of the USA.
Through this celebration, the value of equality comes to be better appreciated. At least once every year, the damage wrought by prejudice is reassessed. The evils of the ethnocentric and ethnopathic perspective that had been held by an important part of society in the past are better seen.
Governor Perry reacts to Turkey due to both religious and national reasons. The anger brought on by this reaction draws a curtain between him and the facts. On the third Tuesday of January, Governor Perry displayed his neurotic-political stance. Probably without being aware of it, Governor Perry did us a favour with his performance on the day after the third Monday of January. By the time it was the third Wednesday of January we were convinced: should one stop the fight with ignorance and prejudice even for a day, the costs may be too high to bear.