My class enjoys talking about big topics; politics, religion, drugs, sex, you name it. Yah, not really what you were thinking about Turkey is it? Well me neither, but it's a nice surprise! So today they were talking about Turkish politics, and one of my friends turned to me and asked, "sen bir sey bilmek ister misin?". Or in english "do you want to know anything?". I sat for a few minutes sorting through my brain and all the questions that are lingering there about Turkey, until I found one that was not about them, but instead about me and my culture. "What do ya'll think about the American government?" "Amerikan hükümeti hakkinda, ne düsünüyorsunuz?" Everyone wanted to tell me the answer, and from the mirage of voices I picked out a few different answers. The first was that they used to love Obama, but now see him as nothing but a puppet. I explained to them that while yes, it wouldn't hurt if Obama stood up to the Republicans a little more, the main reason he hasn't gotten anything done is that anything he wants to achieve is shot down by the Republicans in the Senate. I explained to them that Obama is less of a puppet, and more of a nearly completely powerless leader of a country with a population of people with very different opinions. The second answer they told me struck my heart like an iron fist. My classmates told me that they believe Bush planned 9/11 as a reason to attack Iraq. That terrorists didn't actually hijack the planes, and that there was possibly a reason that all of the Jewish people who worked in the Twin Towers were not at work that day (a claim I believe to be a conspiracy theory). Now don't get me wrong, I have no lost love for Bush, and if any president were a puppet, he would be the one, but growing up in America, honoring 9/11 ever year, feeling what I did when I opened Facebook and saw that Osama Bin Laden had been killed has absolutely had it's impact on me. If the attacks were indeed a plot by the government I wouldn't feel any different, the anniversary would still be honored every year by me, I would still have a great sadness in me for all lives lost on that day, but to hear it from foreigners' mouths that our own government would kill thousands of our citizens made me sad, and just a little bit defensive. I haven't even heard that from Americans, and we are the queens of conspiracy theories. I didn't let my defensiveness get away from me though, and I sat and listened to what they told me. I had asked them what THEY thought after all, and me trying to explain why I didn't think it was true would be too complicated, especially because I truly don't know if it's true or not. So I put this answer behind me, and waited for the third and last answer. And if hearing the second answer hit me like an iron fist, the third answer hit my heart like a flaming arrow with an iron fist attached to the end of it; "biz Amerika'ya güvenmiyoruz," "we don't trust America." This one was harder to hear, not just because it's hard hearing that my country, the country I love, is mistrusted and probably a little bit disliked, but also because I know it's for good reason. What happened America? We are the land of the free, the home of the brave, we have an unimaginable amount of tolerance, opportunity, and freedom. We can be exactly who we want to be, and while there are still bullies, there is considerably less than in some other countries. But the people in those other counties don't experience that unless they live there, and without that what they see is what our government shows them. A greedy, isolated, powerful, intrusive group of men who think of nothing but their own goals. Now isn't every government like that? Maybe, I don't know, but one thing is for sure; America is big and famous, and because of that, every mistake, every war, every bad decision is shared with the entire world. And the big question I have is when did this happen? Our founding fathers, the other men and women who fought the war of independence, they were looking to do better than the countries from which they came from. But are we better than those countries now? Have we become the modern British empire? I don't think so. Our mistakes are broadcasted across the world, but our achievements don't necessarily always make it that far. The supreme court supporting gay marriage last June, Obama's health care plan (which is a start, for all of you reading this and cursing Obama and his plan. It's more than any other politicians have done), our universities, our innovation, the equality that we have. Is the mistrust of America in part because of the way we started? We rebelled against our mother country, propelled ourselves into power in two hundred and fifty years. All eyes are on us. To be quite honest, I don't know. I don't think the U.S.A. is a country to be trusted. We want too much for ourselves, we are too willing to do too much to get those things. I think our origins, the differences between our history and that of most of the rest of the world's has set us apart, and whether that puts people in awe or in a state of mistrust, it depends on that person and their culture. But a seventeen year old girl can't analyze every country and figure out why they don't trust America. This conversation made me realize one thing for certain, however. I want to be a politician. Politicians are mistrusted, even hated sometimes, by every person on earth, but I want to be one. I know I can't change the country as one person, I know it may take a while, but I feel a duty to serve my home. I feel a duty to put my opinions, my beliefs into turning America from a selfish and mistrusted country, to one that people around the world know is a safe place. Into a country people know they CAN trust. So think about something for me. If you're an American citizen, what do YOU think about America? Do you trust our government? Do you like our country? And if you're not an American citizen, think about the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear America. What is it? Thank you for reading this, I felt it was something that needed to be shared. Iyi geceler, goodnight.
Xoxo, Izzy
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