It was a warm summer evening. We were having Turkish tea on the balcony talking about summer plans. It happened just like that. We got a phone call informing us that a military coup was taking place, Istanbul and Ankara are being shut down, and the country is being taken away from its people. Just like that?

Turkey has been a boiling pot for a long time. Because of its geographical location, being a bridge between Asia and Europe and also having borders with Syria, Iraq, and Iran, this country had embodied many different views and cultures. However, after Erdogan’s religious administration, there has been a huge polarization between people. Turkish citizens' fear of following the footsteps of Iran, turning the country into a shariah law ruled one, and the president's desire to be the emperor of the Islamic world got in conflict. Therefore, many people stood strongly against the government. Until today.

Today, many people have waited in front of their TV’s to understand if it was a real coup or if it was something else. Because Turkey has gone through a few military coups and many attempts of them throughout the history. After the Prime minister’s call for the citizens to support democracy (define democracy?) and after the ministry of defense's refusal on the coup, thousands of people rushed out into the streets waving Turkish flags to defend their freedom and of course indirectly the government. In about three hours everything went back to normal.

Now, witnessing this event minute by minute on my vacation, I have some questions. How can this “coup attempt” happen without the knowledge of the ministry of defense? In other words, knowing that military rules are the strictest, how easy is it to take out countless of tanks and dozens of warplanes off of the base? Why doesn’t anybody question that? I am asking these because I have a theory.

Let me give you a scenario. If you are ruling a country and half of the country is against your administration, you have a fear of being taken down, being questioned about Syrian refugees problem, being blamed for hundreds of soldiers and citizens getting killed in Eastern Turkey, not controlling your military as you like, and on top of it being in deep sh*t with ISIS, what would you do? I think you would try to prove yourself and others that your fears are not real. The easiest way to do that would be by creating a bigger problem, by scaring the country of your people with the worst and by calling them to help you with that. (This strategic game is not that new anyways.) Since they have no chance to do otherwise, they chose the best of the worst; support you. They don’t question how the tanks and the planes got out of the base like they are going to a picnic, they don’t question your mistakes in the past, and they don’t question the people behind the events. They come out and support you when they face a bigger predator. You put a couple of people in jail and call it a day. Evidently, you once again show the world that people of your country are fully behind you.

I am sure there will be some explanation to keep the people calm. I am also guessing it will be connected to Fethullah Gulen, the religious leader who lives in Pensilvania. But regardless who blames who, in my opinion, until Turkey has the second amendment in their constitution, a military coup will be used as a presidential campaign for many years to come.