The upper state

When last week I was visiting friends in this lovely town, I couldn’t understand why they were complaining about. In that unbelievably vast pastures I realized a considerable size of industry was underway. The Coopers Town Lake was frozen. People were crossing to the other side walking. "This is nothing, last week it was minus 20 degrees Celsius they told me.

In this region winter sports are popular in almost all places. People here are using snow mobiles for every daily need in their lives. I have to admit that these snow mobiles are one of the deepest joys of my life.

Actually we Turks have always perceived the United States as an industrial nation, where as it is an agrarian based country. I’m sure the cheapest milk around the world is sold in the United States. Also a nature preserving nation is producing a productive policy and protecting the environment.

As for as I can see the global financial crisis has not yet touched the Americans. Although you may feel a slowing down in the economic pace, the cost you have to pay both ways by train Washington-New York is $221 per person. As soon as you hop on the Amtrak, you notice almost all the passengers are well-dressed, courteous, hard working. They drop their luggage on the head-set, sit and immediately switch on their notebooks. I watched the lady sitting next to me for more than three hours. Her fingers never ceased running over the keyboard. If my Internet wouldn’t break down I would do the same.

Why am I writing all this? Because the American nation is workaholic. And I really envy them. I gave lectures for two days running first at the New York Dowling University and then the Columbia Universities for two days running. The audience was very interested.

The focus issues of the questions directed at me in both universities were the state of the Turkish economy, whatever was happening in Iran, Iraq, Syria and the rest of the region etc... and the Ergenekon case, in Turkey, and Davos.

I have to state that the problem the Turks have to deal with is transparency. The Grand National Assembly should take national steps to solve the problem.

One option seems to be to set up a party modeled through the National Endowment for Democracy, or NED, in the United States.

Everybody should debate every issue, be it a Turkish, Kurdish, American or a Greek one with the other in peaceful terms. In the coming months, not only will the so-called Armenian genocide issue will come to the Turkish forefront there are unbelievably issues and problems which will create headaches for Turkey.

The Turkish Grand National Assembly needs a body which will be a carrier voice for it to the outside world. To do it you have to establish a new structure. I’m in Washington DC. I gave a lecture at the Georgetown University and attended conferences in prominent educational institutions. My conclusion of these conferences I drew was that, we have to be present here and talk everybody and we’ll see afterward.