125) What Can Be Done to Enhance the Image of Turks?

 

 The following appeared some years ago in a publication called the "PTAA Digest" (which sounds like was put out by a Turkish-American association in Pennsylvania), written by Professor Thomas Goodrich, Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

“A Letter to the Editor: What To Do?â€� 

 

As a historian I have come to realize that the events in the headlines of newspapers are usually not so important as the small changes that come to fill our lives. If many of you start acting to improve the attitudes and knowledge of Americans about Turks and Turkey, that it will come to pass. It is not insightful or scholarly articles and books or even the meetings of presidents of countries that make difference so much as what PTAA and similar organizations actually do.

 

What to do? Just living in the United States and being known as Turk makes an impression. You are obviously not a wild horseman riding a ragged pony from the Siberian steppes nor are you an ignorant peasant off the rocky fields of Anatolia, mush less a professional wrestler known with the alternative name of The Terrible Turk.

 

There are more specific steps to take as well. Correct errors in fact and in assumptions. Read the books used in local schools and let both teacher and publishers know what you think. Ethnic studies in the spirit of a pluralistic nation and world are growing in this country. In California the state government is insisting upon it, including the Armenian issue. Make sure that the study of the issue is open minded, with more than one viewpoint expressed. (This issue  is highly dramatic; most matters will be about a word, or a sentence, or a paragraph yet just as important to comment on.)

 

Correct other facts and opinions in all media: magazines, newspapers, and television. Most people would like to learn and correct errors about Turks and Turkey and are quite open. This leads to the problems more difficult than errors – ignorance and lack of interest. When people in Turkey ask me why they know so much about the United States and we know little about their country, I ask what hey know about Argentina, The Philippines, or Nigeria. It is difficult to know much about 150 countries, as well as our U.S. problems, the football scores, and how to play Nintendo games. As Turks, you need to be available for any group interested in learning or in filling a regular meeting. Present activities in schools, Rotary, Elks, Junior Chamber of Commerce, local photography club, etc. Public relations is tiring yet can be effective.

 

Finally find out what others are doing, not only other Turkish-American associations but similar ethnic groups to determine what works. There are types of activities that are successful. There are organizations that have advice. Be in touch with Turkish Studies Association, The Institute for Turkish Studies, and the Middle East Centers in universities such as Pitt, Ohio State, Penn State, Texas and UCLA.

 

PTAA is already recognized as a dynamic active association. Continue to grow and be a dynamic pressure in improving the image of Turks and Turkey in Western Pennsylvania, the Tri-State region, and beyond. Kolay gelsin.
 

Professor Thomas Goodrich appears to be retired from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania. A page from their web site informs us that the university carries a collection of 1950-1965 letters written by the professor's children, who widely travelled.

 

Professor Goodrich was one of the brave academicians who put his name on 1985's "69 Scholars" Declaration, inviting harassment from Armenians and obsessed genocide scholars, attempting to smear these academicians' reputations.

 

Thank you, Professor Goodrich, for your enlightenment, your regard for historical truth, and for your humanity.

 

 

Thanks to Yuksel Oktay

 

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