A ’peace virus’ on the Internet
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Aralık 18, 2008 00:00
A group of Turkish intellectuals putting together a Web site to apologize to Armenians for a "great catastrophe" is not in and of itself a big deal. The context that propelled the initiative, and the reflective and intelligent reaction, including reasoned criticism, is evidence of something profound
Yesterday, the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review reported on the Web site, www.ozurdiliyoruz.com. It is an admirable and gutsy move to demonstrate the empathy shared by many Turks for the historical suffering of Armenians, whether the label be "genocide," "massacre," or something else. The reaction by opponents, as we noted, demonstrates a consensus in Turkey to keep channels of communication open while disagreeing. This is the essential ingredient of any reconciliation. What is most important, we believe, is that Turkey has reached what sociologists call a "tipping point." This is how they describe the phenomenon of many little, all-but-unnoticed things that accumulate to result in great societal change or dramatic shifts.
Fashion is an example of things that change this way. Revolutions in music and art have transformed similarly; after all no one set out to "design" the 1960s. The decline of crime in New York City when no one expected it, the rise of teenage smoking worldwide amid a chorus of anti-smoking warnings are more testament to the "tipping point" process. Just who decided that the Berlin Wall and all it stood for should crumble? At what point did American society cross the cultural threshold that a black man could be seriously considered for the White House?
"Tipping points are like epidemics," argues Malcolm Gladwell, the author who put this term in the common lexicon. "For ideas, products, messages and behaviors spread just like viruses do."
As we noted in yesterday’s story, it was just in 2005 that a group of lawyers sought legal action and created a public furor when a state university simply sought to have a panel discussion of the events of 1915 that included all perspectives.
When it comes to this issue, the world is a different place today than it was in 2005. Surely, the courageous visit a few months ago of President Abdullah Gül to a Yerevan football match was a major moment in this ongoing "tipping" toward dialogue.
But this occurred because of many small things: the Yerevan State Ballet’s visit to İstanbul enabled by Rotary clubs in Turkey and Armenia, dozens of low-key exchanges of students and academics, a joint Turkish-Armenian film production now underway, exchanges of musicians and artists, an Armenian entrepreneur’s project to produce wine from the grapes of Armenia, Turkey and Azerbaijan. A "peace vintage" he called it.
Maybe we can coin a new phrase from his term and Gladwell’s analogy: a "peace virus." We are sure it will spread.
Fashion is an example of things that change this way. Revolutions in music and art have transformed similarly; after all no one set out to "design" the 1960s. The decline of crime in New York City when no one expected it, the rise of teenage smoking worldwide amid a chorus of anti-smoking warnings are more testament to the "tipping point" process. Just who decided that the Berlin Wall and all it stood for should crumble? At what point did American society cross the cultural threshold that a black man could be seriously considered for the White House?
"Tipping points are like epidemics," argues Malcolm Gladwell, the author who put this term in the common lexicon. "For ideas, products, messages and behaviors spread just like viruses do."
As we noted in yesterday’s story, it was just in 2005 that a group of lawyers sought legal action and created a public furor when a state university simply sought to have a panel discussion of the events of 1915 that included all perspectives.
When it comes to this issue, the world is a different place today than it was in 2005. Surely, the courageous visit a few months ago of President Abdullah Gül to a Yerevan football match was a major moment in this ongoing "tipping" toward dialogue.
But this occurred because of many small things: the Yerevan State Ballet’s visit to İstanbul enabled by Rotary clubs in Turkey and Armenia, dozens of low-key exchanges of students and academics, a joint Turkish-Armenian film production now underway, exchanges of musicians and artists, an Armenian entrepreneur’s project to produce wine from the grapes of Armenia, Turkey and Azerbaijan. A "peace vintage" he called it.
Maybe we can coin a new phrase from his term and Gladwell’s analogy: a "peace virus." We are sure it will spread.