'The Turkish and Pan-Turkish Ideal by Tekin Alp' [‎19v] (43/58)

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CHAPTER III
THE IDEAL
The awakening of the national consciousness, in itself a cause for
rejoicing, is only a beginning, a preparation for the real goal. The way
is clear, but the end is still far away. What great distances must be
covered by the people in order to reach this end ! What developments
from their good beginning ! An ideal is needed to make the national
consciousness bear fruit. A spur or a goad must urge on the nation,
lest it weary before the goal is reached. Every class, every individual in
the country should, through his consciousness of self, see this ideal shine
before him, forming the end of all his desires, and making the goal still
more worth striving for.
Every nation under the sun possesses such an ideal, be it great or
small, powerful or uninspiring.
The Germans proclaim their ideal in their national songs : “ Deutsch
land, Deutschland iiber alles ...” Every German knows this song from
his childhood, all through his life it rings in his ears, and with those words
on his lips he dies—“ Deutschland, Deutschland iiber alles ”, and in
very truth every German longs with his whole soul and will to see his
nation “ iiber alles ”. In striving for this ideal the Germans have become
so great and powerful a nation that they are now able to defy a whole
world of assailants and defeat them all.
The English have also an ideal, and as it is precisely identical with
Germany’s, the conflict between the two nations became inevitable.
The French ideal is in contradiction to the needs and conditions
of the age.
Since the great Revolution, the nation has striven towards “ liberty,
equality, fraternity ”.
The French philosophers have created a special term for this:
“ Humanitarianism ”. Gustav Lebon says :
“ France’s greatest misfortune is that humanitarianism has become
her national ideal. Italy was created through this ideal, and she has
always been among the enemies of France.
“ In short, the training of a Frenchman is not national, but anti
national.”
The Balkan peoples, Greeks, Bulgarians, Serbians, and even popula
tions who till yesterday were under the dominion of Turkey, all possess
a national ideal. From the statesman who is concerned with the hard
questions of political and social life, down to the simple peasant who
knows about nothing but his cow and his sickle, all long to see a powerful
Greece, Bulgaria, or Serbia. As the Turks have only to-day found their
national consciousness, they cannot be expected to have a very well-
defined ideal yet, and, indeed, they have not got it. In order to imbue