While I am still pondering this second installment, just now I came across a quote by Ataturk, Founder of the modern Turkish Republic, and am stunned by its relevance to my "soul search", i.e. the part about: "... and as an American, do I, in fact, have a right to opine about Turkey and the direction the majority of her people want to march on? On the other hand, we live in a global village. “From Celtia to Anatolia” our actions influence each other’s existence in real time. Besides, Turks opine about my country, the United States of America, all the time, and criticize us aplenty."
Well, here is that quote by Ataturk:
"Humankind is a single body and each nation a part of that body. We must never say 'What does it matter to me if some part of the world is ailing?' If there is such an illness, we must concern ourselves with it as though we were having that illness." (bold-red faced emphasis mine)
Oh yes, indeed! Humankind IS a single body and each nation a part of that body... and truly we must never say 'What matters to me if some part of the world is ailing?'
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, Turkish soldier and statesman, was born in the Ottoman city of Salonica (Selanik) on March 12, 1881, and passed away on November 10, 1938. But I can see that his thoughts and ideals are as fresh as 'every morning.'
And here is a personal quote -- about his inner-self -- by Ataturk: "There's a place in me that can really relate to being the underdog. I'm always fighting to overcome the obstacle. I can really understand what that is about."
Hmmm. Now I have a window into his soul. Ataturk was a Pisces. Pisces is also associated with the Greco-Roman god Poseidon/Neptune and sometimes also the gods Zeus/Jupiter, Morpheus, and Thor and the goddess Tyche/Fortuna. By the way, I’ve always likened Ataturk to Hector, the noble defender Troy, for unlike Achilles, who fought for glory, Hector fought to defend his parents, wife and child, and with equal fervor, his fellow citizens.