Something to ponder about humanity.
And then, one day, during a workshop class, when Ayhan had maintained that "men can be feminists, Christians can fight anti-Semitism, whites can stand up for the rights of the blacks, Muslims can oppose the destruction of a church and veterans can join hands with conscientious objectors..." a student not unlike himself, back when he was an ambitious but penniless country boy, had taken exception, ribbing him with,
"But Professor, is it possible for the wolf to lie down with the lamb? Can a man and a woman be 'just friends'? How long can fire and gunpowder rest side by side without there being an explosion? I'm surprised how quickly a villager like you has forgotten the law of nature!"
And the kid had smiled. And Ayhan had smiled too because he'd been flippant and carefree once himself, and had relied entirely on this determinist line of reasoning.
"You're right," he replied, looking directly at this student who was at least fifteen years his junior. "That is, you're right as long as you think like a wolf. But you're here in this class as a person, to study sculpture. People are born people, but one's humanity is learned. Did you know that? The education you receive here is to teach you humanity ... Without a sense of humanity, you may become a successful sculptor, but you'll never become a true artist ... or a good man," he'd said.
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