I was able to pass the course, but I sometimes still find myself thinking about why it was "the theory" of democracy. Regardless, after extensively debating the subject, I did not say no when my neighbors decided to elect me as the chairperson of our 52-unit apartment building's administration. To me, democracy is based on responsibility, and if I am offered a responsibility, I should not refuse it.
When I was nominated I told my neighbors that I strongly believe in collective administration, and if we communicated all our problems, the building should, in effect, run itself. So I asked my neighbors for their e-mail addresses in order to form a discussion forum to help solve our problems. When I was giving this very "democratic" speech, a neighbor of mine that I liked very much smiled bitterly and whispered in my ear that very soon I would turn into a despot.
Well, only three of the 52 neighbors provided me with their e-mail addresses, and most of the others continued to complain about the lack of communication in the building.
I strongly believe that democracy entails showing respect to others. So I gave my telephone number to my neighbors, and since then it has not stopped ringing; day and night, in the middle of writing an article and while conducting an interview, it is ringing, and someone is telling me that she was not able to find the building caretaker to send out for a loaf of bread; another one is saying that the dog next door is barking too much; another one is shouting "I am freezing!" one minute later, with yet another one complaining that the flats are too hot and that we are burning money. But I still in believe in democracy.
Well, in university I learned that in order to have a strong democracy it is important to ensure equality; it seemed evident to me -- as a democratic leader -- that if the flats at the north end and on upper floors of the building were complaining about the cold, I must take measures to reduce the differences and support the disadvantaged groups. So we organized a committee to develop some ideas to solve these problems. And I chose to form a committee since I think participation and transparency are the pillars of democracy. Then we organized a meeting with the all the neighbors to discuss the findings of the committee, but some of those who had complained most did not show up and did not recognize the authority of the delegation. But still, I do believe in democracy.
We started our meeting with one minute of silence for the martyrs, although I was thinking that the martyrs had nothing to do with our heating problem -- but since most of the neighbors wanted this done, it was fine with me, too. At the end of the day, I do believe in the importance of respecting the ideas of others.
As soon as the meeting started, so too did the quarrels. Some neighbors spoke endlessly; some opposed everything. Some even claimed that we could not make any decisions because in the letter I wrote inviting the neighbors to the meeting, I stated that the gathering was being held "in order to discuss the reports of the committee" -- but I did not write "to discuss and make decisions on the reports of the committee." While we were fighting over our heating problem, some neighbors claimed that they didn't use the pool so they didn't want to pay TL 6 -- only six -- for the chlorine in the pool. We started our meeting at 1 p.m. and after five hours I have to admit I was about to lose it and shout "Enough!" but just before I opened my mouth my eyes met those of the neighbor who claimed that I would turn into a despot.
Well, after six and a half hours, the meeting was ended without any results.
But on the other hand, now I know why that course was called "The Theory of Democracy," because the ideas on how to implement it might differ, but it definitely needs a certain culture and a determination to not give it up under any circumstances, even at the cost of freezing. In the end, the people in the building would not prefer to be ruled by a despot in order to live in warm apartments, and this gives me hope for the future of the country.
