Once upon a time in the world's most refined country

State-run Turkish Radio and Television (TRT) uploaded a portion of its archive on the web. Click and watch. Especially from the 1970s to the end of the 1990s, the state television would make its rivals envious in terms of quality. The drama and comedy sequences, culture talk shows, entertainment programs and interviews… the 1970s were especially the years when TRT was truly a TRT. 

What drew my attention from those years is a situation that sounds surreal for us now: Everybody speaks with very proper Turkish. The sentences are clear and profound, the vocabulary is rich and the expressions are clear. More importantly, this wonderful Turkish is accompanied by an awesome culture, politeness and modesty. 

Forget about the artists and presenters; even the criminals of that time spoke politely explaining how they were caught in the crime ring. Their usage of Turkish could rival that of some academics of today. Seen through the lenses of the TRT, the 1970s look like a utopic place, a cultural oasis, as if Turkey was the world's most sophisticated country.

Yes, I know there were plenty of problems in those years; but obviously, in terms of education and culture, lessons should be drawn from that period. 

In those years, there was only one television channel and everybody watched this single station. They only saw these cultured, knowledgeable and respectful people. Thus, if you wanted to be an "important person," these seemed to be the prerequisites. These were the conscious times when excelling in your mother tongue, courtesy, modesty, good education and knowledge were cherished. It was exactly the opposite of today in which illiteracy, aggression and rudeness are celebrated and blessed. 

Nothing wrong with kids...