We invite our readers, followers, viewers, and all supporters to share their views on Medyascope. If your article aligns with our editorial principles and is approved by our Editorial Board, it will be published on our website with your name. We envision a Türkiye where people talk, debate, and express diverse opinions. This article titled “What Would You Do If Your House Was on Fire?” was written by our reader İbrahim Özdemir.
Türkiye is once again shaken by forest fires.
While thousands of hectares of forest are turning to ash, trees, birds, bees, hedgehogs, squirrels, and countless other creatures are being wiped out. Citizens fighting the fires are losing their lives.
The sky is covered in smoke, our lungs are burning.
Pain upon pain! Grief upon grief! Psychologists call this eco-grief.
Are we getting used to these images on our screens?
This is exactly where we must ask: What would you do if your house was on fire?
My American colleague, environmental philosopher Kathleen Dean Moore, puts it this way:
"When your house is in flames, you don’t debate whether the fire is natural or human-caused. You grab a bucket and do what you can. Because there are people inside that house."
Today, Türkiye’s forests, mountains, and rivers are our home.
And that home is burning.
Who is responsible for the fire?
Some speak of climate change, others mention sabotage. But just as important as the cause of the fire is how we respond to it. As Moore emphasizes, this is not just a scientific issue—it is a moral one.
Yes, we did not inherit this world, but we borrowed it.
But what have we done?
We built roads, poured concrete, cut down trees, burned fossil fuels, polluted the water and soil...
Then we labeled it a “natural disaster” and stepped aside.
But this is not a natural disaster; it is the result of human neglect.
The real question we must ask is this:
Do we want to leave our children a world with clean air, water, and soil, or just a map of fire zones?
What would you do if your house was on fire? We need a moral awakening.
As Kathleen Dean Moore states: "We think we don’t want to make sacrifices. But we are constantly sacrificing. We’re trading lasting values for temporary comforts. We’re sacrificing our children’s future."
So, the issue is not just “putting out the fires.”
The real issue is changing the lifestyle that causes these fires.
Developing individual and collective awareness of the climate crisis
Rethinking our consumption habits
Supporting sustainable agriculture, transportation, and energy policies
Seeing nature not as a “resource to exploit” but as a “trust to protect”
Each of these is a moral act. We don’t need anyone’s command to act. Listening to our conscience is enough.
This article titled “What Would You Do If Your House Was on Fire?” was written by our reader İbrahim Özdemir.
Türkiye is once again shaken by forest fires.
While thousands of hectares of forest are turning to ash, trees, birds, bees, hedgehogs, squirrels, and countless others are disappearing. Citizens trying to extinguish the fires are losing their lives.
The sky is covered in smoke, our lungs are burning.
Pain upon pain! Grief upon grief! Psychologists call this eco-grief.
Are we becoming desensitized to these images?
This is exactly where we must ask: What would you do if your house was on fire?
Environmental philosopher Kathleen Dean Moore explains it like this: "When your house is in flames, you don’t ask whether the fire is caused by nature or humans. You grab a bucket and do what you can. Because there are people inside that house."
Today, Türkiye’s forests, mountains, and rivers are our home.
That house is burning right now.
Who is responsible for the fire?
Some speak of climate change, others of sabotage. But just as important as the cause of the fire is our response to it. As Moore points out, this is not just a scientific issue, but it is also a moral one.
Yes, we did not inherit this Earth, but we borrowed it.
But what did we do?
We built roads, poured concrete, cut down trees, burned fossil fuels, polluted the water and soil…
Then we stepped aside and called it a "natural disaster."
Yet this is not a natural disaster; it is the result of human negligence.
The real question we must ask is this: Do we want to leave our children a world with clean air, water, and soil, or merely a map of fire zones as their inheritance?
What would you do if your house was on fire? We need a moral awakening.
As Kathleen Dean Moore says: "We think we don't want to make sacrifices. But in truth, we are constantly sacrificing. We give up lasting values for temporary comforts. We sacrifice our children's future."
That’s why the issue is not only about "putting out the fires."
The real issue is changing the lifestyle that causes these fires in the first place.
Developing individual and collective awareness of the climate crisis
Rethinking our consumption habits
Supporting sustainable agriculture, transportation, and energy policies
Viewing nature not as a “resource to be exploited,” but as a “trust to be protected”
All of these are moral acts.
We do not need anyone’s command to act on them.
It is enough to listen to our conscience.
All of these are moral acts.
We don’t need anyone’s permission to take them.
Listening to our conscience is enough.
We have a responsibility to our children
“How do we show our love for our children?”
By buying the right shoes for the soccer tournament?
Or by fighting to ensure that their future includes forests they can breathe in, rivers they can swim in and fish from, lakes and seas they can enjoy, and trees that offer them shade?
As Moore says:" To love someone is to carry a sacred obligation to protect them."
Today, as Türkiye burns, those words should echo even louder.
This is not just the responsibility of firefighters, municipalities, or the state, and it is a responsibility that falls on all of us.
Because this house belongs to all of us.
If something stirred in your heart as you read this, know that it’s not too late.
Make a decision: What can I change today?
By saying “no” to something, what can I say “yes” to, for the sake of the planet?
Because life is not only made up of what happens to us, but also of the choices we make, the decisions we take, and the actions we refuse to engage in.
And remember: Trees may be silent, but when they burn, they scream.
I have witnessed this.
The death cries of trees, and the thousands of creatures within them, echoed in my ears for days and robbed me of sleep.
Hearing them is our moral duty.