I don''t think the decision-makers in the high echelons of American politics know what they are doing. They seem to feel that Turkey cannot sacrifice bilateral relations with the most powerful country on earth, the US, for a blemish as unimportant as accepting Armenians'' claims of “genocide” conducted so long ago by an empire that no longer exists. The US Congress is ready to pass a resolution on the Armenian genocide issue that will infuriate the Turks, and the US administration seems to think that this would have little impact on bilateral relations, and even if it did, that it could not go beyond a reasonable level of response.

I beg to remind US politicians that they are on the verge of making a grave mistake.

Cultural differences between people have been a known fact since anthropology as a science came into being. Different people react differently to developments affecting humans. Some cultures put individual values in a special place, and actions jeopardizing those values are penalized harshly. Some have the highest regard for national honor and cannot endure it being put at risk.

All Turks, regardless of family history or educational background, receive the same type of a values training during school, and the writer who affects our national psyche the most is Ömer Seyfettin (1884-1920), a run-of-the mill storyteller who tells mainly historical anecdotes to which no other writer has given any importance, and he tells them very effectively.

I especially remember two of his most telling stories very vividly.

The first is the story of “the caftan with pink pearls.” Muhsin Çelebi was an honorable gentleman who had little regard for bureaucratic chores and stayed clear of government duties all his life. When he was summoned by the grand vizier to carry a letter from the sultan to Shah Ismail of Persia, who was known to be rude and bad-mouthed towards emissaries coming from Istanbul, Muhsin Çelebi did not want to accept the mission, giving the excuse of his reluctance to assume state duties. The grand vizier was insistent, and Muhsin Çelebi had to accept what he was asked to deliver.

He put all his estates as collateral to purchase the most precious caftan, an overcoat, completely embroidered with precious pink pearls. When he entered Shah Ismail''s palace, his outfit attracted the attention of the courtiers as well as the shah himself. When Shah Ismail, on his throne, did not show Muhsin Çelebi a place to sit during the audience, the sultan''s emissary laid down his caftan on the floor and sat on it. After a short discussion with the shah and delivering the sultan''s letter, Muhsin Çelebi exited the court leaving his caftan with precious pink pearls behind, and when he was reminded to get it, he said a Turk could not put on his caftan after having sat on it.

Ömer Seyfettin, at the end of his narrative, stresses the point that Muhsin Çelebi on his return to Istanbul gave his report to the grand vizier and had to endure a miserable life afterwards as a grocery seller in the bazaar since he could not get his possessions back -possessions mortgaged to buy a caftan with pink pearls.

The story of the caftan with pink pearls is embedded in the minds of all Turks, regardless of social strata.

There is another story by Ömer Seyfettin which is more effective than the first one in the Turkish psyche.

It is the story of Huge Ali, who was a first-rate blacksmith in a small town. A very proud man this Huge Ali was. He was wrongly accused of theft and was sentenced unjustly to lose his right arm. Those who loved him asked the town''s richest man to pay Huge Ali''s blood money in return for his total allegiance as a servant. The rich man succumbed but made Huge Ali''s life miserable afterwards. He always reminded Ali that if he had not been around to pay his blood money, Ali would have been with only one arm. One day, when the rich man was doing the same round of reminding Huge Ali what he had done for him by paying his blood money, Ali could not take this any longer and cut his right arm from its armpit using a sharp knife with the announcement: “Now you have my arm, and I demand to have my dignity back.”

I know for most Americans those are stories which have no relevance whatsoever to today''s events. Pride equals pickiness, and that equals nothing. Members of Congress can pass a resolution without thinking what kind of a reaction their action will get from the Turks. Those who have some consideration for the reaction from Turkey can expect very little based on the premise that what they do is only a small gesture to the Armenians who suffered in history and that the Turks of today could not get offended. If they do, the Turks would never dare to challenge what the US represents in the world today.

If they really think along these lines, the American politicians are making a grave mistake.

I don''t know what kind of a response the Turkish government has in store, but I am sure of one thing: the Turkish public will never accept small measures as a reaction to the Congress'' decision. They will take it as a blow to their dignity and an affront they will never forget.

Ömer Seyfettin has stories to prove this, too.