The Seven Deadly Sins In the uproar that has now permeated Turkey, I found myself pondering the

saying Pride goeth before a fall. I recalled that pride (otherwise interpreted as arrogance or hubris) is one of the Seven Deadly Sins mentioned in the Bible, with the most well-known reference located in Proverbs 6:17-19, attributed to King Solomon. Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies, and a person who stirs up conflict in the community. In later Christian writings, pride has sometimes been categorized as the worst of those sins. I found myself wondering what the Koran had to say on the subject. Aided by the internet, I found abounding references that left no confusion regarding the Prophets instruction on this subject, such that even a speck of pride in ones heart will prevent one from entering Paradise. I suspect all religions take this sin equally seriously, because when we all too frequently succumb to it, we essentially discount the value of other human beings, the right to their own opinions, their personal welfare, and even their lives. Speaking as an American who has lived with Turkish families and studied and traveled the country extensively, I have countless good friends who are aligned with various political parties (AKP, CHP, BDP), include Turks, Kurds, and Arabs; the pious, the secular, the military; social conservatives and liberals, Sunnis, Alevis and Christians and every single one of them are delightful human beings. And while many may say that it is not my place to state my opinion, I love my Turkish friends who cross this spectrum, and hate to see them suffer from increasingly dangerous political and social strife. I dont think anyone is very happy in Turkey right now. I cannot deny that I find myself thinking that indeed, Prime Minister Erdogan has fallen prey to the almost inevitable curse of great power pride, arrogance, hubris. I happened to be living in Istanbul during the Gezi protests, and had the opportunity to watch demonstrations from my windows and listen to the banging of pots and pans a novel form of protest unknown in the United States. I visited Gezi Park during its momentary incarnation as a street fair before being blasted out by teargas, and while enjoying the music, dancing and food between the speeches and hurrahs and flag-waving, I noted the diversity of citizens. The predominately middle aged crowd and their families certainly did not fit the picture of rabble and terrorists, nor have anything to do with a nefarious deep-state conspiracy. Their anger and resentment was not really about that little park it was about being discounted, not being listened to, being disrespected for having a different point-of-view, and having to watch their words in public and in social media, lest they be punished as an example. These days, my Turkish friends are very careful about stating their opinions demonstrating a fear and paranoia that is antithetical to a supposedly democratic nation. Yet to a certain degree, I can understand some peoples anger about the protests. I was appalled to see beautiful historic buildings on Itiklal Caddesi defaced with protest graffiti, as well as destruction of property such as vehicles. I felt badly for businesses severely disrupted for days,

even weeks, on end. Yet I am proud to see so many Turkish people stand up for their rights to have some control over massive development that occurs in their midst, can impact the quality of everyday life (Istanbul is in dire need of green space to keep it livable), overwh elm their magnificent cultural resources and seriously impact their environment. We contest these issues constantly in the United States too. What is a pity is that the Prime Minister did not have go down this path. If only he had remembered that an elected leader has a responsibility to be the leader for all of a nations citizens not just the ones who voted for him in the last election. If only he had graciously extended an olive branch, like President Gl, and somehow showed that he truly cared about differing opinions, the Gezi Park protests would likely have been avoided. And it is all the more the shame because the AKP party has accomplished many things to their credit, to which even my non-AKP friends (somewhat grudgingly) agree. The economic progress has been impressive, the role of the military has been tamed (I think), efforts have made to start to solve Kurdish issues, and there is more freedom to practice religion as you see fit with or without head scarves and hopefully Turkey will honor the foundation of a secular government that respects the separation of church and state as the only way to protect religious and personal freedom for all. But the truth is, neither you nor I are fundamentally one whit different than the Prime Minister. All human beings share that sin of pride and arrogance. I have seen it operate in myself, working in my small local government, convinced that my way was the right way, going to battle for my puffed up opinions, thinking I was the key to all future improvements, building my support team and brooking no differences of opinion. Such is human nature, and as I age, I see my foolishness. Over time, I learned that sincerely listening to and incorporating differing points of view leads to immensely better results than being a prideful authoritarian. Learning this is NOT an easy task, we are constantly subject to backsliding, and to respect other points of views is incredibly difficult, as it is not in our selfish natures. The more powerful the position, the more challenging it is to avoid the pitfall of hubris. Im just a little fish and it took me 20 years get it kind of. In closing, I see the greatest danger for the future of Turkey centered on the issue of separation of powers within government (especially the protection of the independence of the judiciary). It is so vital to the protection of liberties, i.e. to protect ourselves from ourselves, that it is worth ending with a quote from the genius behind the United States Constitution, James Madison in the Federalist Papers #51 from 1788. the great security against a gradual concentration of the several powers in the same department, consists in giving to those who administer each department, the necessary constitutional means, and personal motives, to resist encroachments of the others . Ambition must be made to counteract ambition. It may be a reflection on human nature, that such devices should be necessary to controul the abuses of government.If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controuls on

government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: You must first enable the government to controul the governed; and in the next place, oblige it to controul itself The great rush of evens has become like a torrent, and it is impossible to guess the course of that river. I just hope that supporters of the Prime Minister realize that if personal liberties are abrogated, fear of retribution for voicing a dissenting opinion becomes the new normal, and the independence of the judicial is threatened, what goes around, comes around and in some future election, they may find themselves on the other side of that argument, and as such, it is to the benefit of all citizens of Turkey to beware of centralization of power. Because YOU may be the next victim.