I think humankind is hardwired to survive, and to survive by creating beauty. We are inclined towards beauty by nature. And I choose to believe in humankind, by the way. This is a conviction. This is not a fact, this is a choice. And as with any other faith, it’s a tiny bit blind.
I like that blindness. I have to believe in humankind in order to keep going — in order to speak, in order to write, in order to be. So this is a choice. This is a political and moral stance.
Rising authoritarianism, social atomization and looming climate change — the world feels like it is falling apart. In this wide-ranging podcast, the acclaimed Turkish novelist and journalist Ece Temelkuran speaks to New Lines’ Faisal Al Yafai about her book, “Together: 10 Choices for a Better Now,” and the urgent issues that compelled her to write it. They talk about what it felt like to watch democracy die in Turkey, why she refuses to play the exile — and why, no matter how bad it gets, we can’t afford to lose faith in each other.