But, finally, I realized, after all that has happened — I turned twenty a month after September 11th; I grew up with attacks, with Islamism, with fundamentalism — that you have to defend your ideas, you can't always cede the floor to others".
Instead of getting angry and defending your ideas, first stop and look at the other's motivations.
Being able to trace your theorizing or conclusions back to their source will help you defending your ideas or pushing them further.
Remaining open is essential, but so is learning how to defend your opinions and ideas to get your points across.
I hope that Turkey is now learning that real democracy means having transparency and accountability in all sectors and that freedom of expression is not meant to be the liberty to humiliate or accuse someone, but is meant to guarantee the ability to freely defend your thoughts and ideas.
So whether you're a school pupil or a mayor, a firm of architects or a solo inventor, don't be shy: there is no restriction on who can volunteer, so long as you live or work in the city you represent and are available on 31 October to defend your city's best idea in English.
Don't defend your argument with weak ideas such as "Everyone else is doing it!" or "Everyone is making fun of me!".
If you see authors posting in their threads, please carefully consider their views and engage with their arguments, keeping in mind that they're people, too, and that defending your own ideas on Cif can be confronting.
The idea that defending Muslim lands is important is much the same as the idea of defending your own homeland anywhere is important.
"The mayor is appropriate to defend the idea of a grading system; I defend the idea of a grading system," Ms. Quinn said in an interview.
