I am, what the Scottish media would describe as, a Cybernat. There are thousands of us about, and we are growing like weeds day by day all over the place, In Scotland and, in support, further afield. The media will have you believe that us burgeoning agitators are snarling St Andrews Cross waving, blue painted faced nationalists in kilts, who have a strong distrust of English people and a “Braveheart” fetish. We are portrayed as bully boys, and girls, who can’t accept that anyone else is entitled to a point of view, or that persecuting celebrities for shovelling vast sums of money at the Better Together campaign is a bad thing. In reality all of that is pure spin and fantasy. Personally, although I will freely admit to the odd tear in my eye at the New Year wae a drink in me at the haunting Pipes of Highland Cathedral, I am by no means a flag waver of any great distinction, being firmly of the belief that I am a citizen of the world. Like almost all of us I love that I am Scottish, with our marvellous self-deprecating humour, our sense of community, and our heritage and culture. It’s part of me, of my identity, but I’m no’ a ranting fanatic. As for the almost continuously referenced, and near obsessional preoccupation with the movie “Braveheart” by naysayers whilst scoffing at those who believe in self-determination for Scotland on social media, for myself, I’ve seen the movie perhaps three times in full since it came out, chuckled at the obvious Hollywood (not Hollyrood) historical inaccuracies portrayed, laughed out loud every time Mel Gibson, wae his 1980s heavy metal wig on, pronounced the name of my homeland in a low gravelly voice as Skawlin, and let it pass as a good yarn. I would say a fairly typical and reasonable response by any average Scot to such a fantasy. In point of fact the only Frrrrreeeddooomm! I want tae see for the people of Scotland is freedom from the likes of the Bedroom Tax (which thankfully for the less fortunate in society the Scottish limited powers Government are currently helping to alleviate north of the border), freedom for mothers to stop having to queue up at Food-banks to feed their weans, freedom for Scots to be able to get ill without worrying themselves to death that their sickness pay or benefits are going to stop because they can’t work, and freedom for the people of Scotland to be able, at last, to have real influence in making a democratic choice of government which, every single time from now on, I repeat, every single time, will represent Scottish views and aspirations for the future. As for England, I have many family members and friends who are from south of the border, all of whom I love or hold dear in my affections, most of us have. They will still be my family and friends no matter what the outcome of September 18th’s Referendum. I have previously lived in England and there are many lovely parts of that country and its culture that I admire. That will not change for me, for you, for any of us. If a Yes vote is successful a big tanker will not turn up off the coast at Berwick to drag the northern portion of the island away from the southern portion. There will still be a British Isles. And regarding the celebrity baiting? Naa, not my style either. Good luck tae Ms Rowling and her ilk. She has managed tae overcome what was apparently a pretty rough time for her in her life tae become a roaring success by utilising a great talent and imagination. She deserves her fame and fortune. It’s her money and she’s entitled to do what she wants with it. At the end of the day she is entitled to one vote, the same as everybody else who lives in Scotland. One side of the debate seem to be receiving all of their advertising and campaign funding from a few very well off individuals, the other through the trickle of many small grassroots contributions, apart from a significant much publicised and pilloried contribution from a couple who won the lotto, who are committed to self-determination for Scots. Hopefully this referendum hasn’t descended into the tawdry American style of political campaigning where whichever side has the most money for advertising ultimately wins. That would surely be democracy oot the windae yet again! As for being a nationalist, well, I’m not one of those either, many of us Yes supporters aren’t, although I don’t see anything wrong with it in the form that’s currently being applied in Scotland. In fact it is to be commended. The media are trying sare to portray the Scottish National Party as a political organisation akin to the more hard-line sinister negative type of nationalism. Wickedly we’ve even seen attempts in some sections of the gutter press, at times, trying to make comparisons with some of the evil regimes of the past which grew from fanatical nationalism. This is very unfair and entirely inaccurate. To even consider comparing them to the likes of the BNP, the fledgling nasties of UKIP, and fascist regimes of the past, is just wrong on all levels. Are the people of Scotland falling for that sort of sensationalist rubbish? I would doubt it. Contrary to speculation and propaganda the Yes Campaign in Scotland is not actually about the SNP, although you wouldn’t think that from listening to the media, almost all of whom are controlled by organisations or individuals who have a vested interest in remaining in the Union (not a speculative comment based on a conspiracy theory but an actual fact. If you don’t believe it do a bit of research). This is aided by the unholy alliance of spineless mainstream political parties working together who are pledged to stop self-determination for Scots at any cost, who continually point any discussion on the subject of Independence back in as negative a manner as they can at the SNP, and more specifically the leader of that party. They want you, the undecided, or uninformed, to believe it’s only about the SNP and that bad wee man Alex Salmond. That way they can try and narrow the debate as much as possible and keep it simplistic. They will not acknowledge the wider discussion, the gathering storm. Its blindingly obvious, but the SNP, as the current party democratically elected to lead the limited powers Scottish Government at Hollyrood, are the gate openers, who, if a Yes vote is successful, will have facilitated the transition to Independence and the ability for Scots to choose governments for themselves. That is not just a big deal, it is an absolutely colossal feat to aim for, and if this is successfully achieved, with the wider popular vote of those usually aligned to other parties or not politically motivated in any direction, I believe the SNP will deserve great kudos for their efforts in facilitating such an enormous change. Alex Salmond is not building an empire. He is helping to end an irrelevant one. Whether the SNP stay in power and transform into an fully fledged government after the first Scottish General Election in 2016 is up to the people of Scotland, and will depend on their performance between now and then. If they do well during the transition period they’ll fully deserve to be the first ever Scottish Government. If they don’t meet with the approval of the majority of Scots someone else will be voted in. That’s what democracy is for. When I first considered the question of Scottish Independence I felt it would take a gargantuan effort for those in favour of self-determination to achieve sufficient numbers against the establishment, as it exists in the UK, and its propaganda machine, to have any chance of success. Then something happened that changed that view. Slowly at first, and then with increasing momentum, I began to see comments, have conversations on the subject both online and whilst I was home on holiday, and hear from friends and acquaintances, very many of whom have similar backgrounds to myself, that made me think again. Many of these folks I would not ever have dreamt would have come to the conclusion that Scotland is better off as a separate nation from England, but they have, and they are. For many years I had the opinion myself that it was a bad idea. I used to believe the fallacy that Scots received a bigger subsidy than we actually contributed, until I was made aware of the facts, a discovery of which at first made me angry that such a deception has been able to continue for so long unchallenged. (If you don’t believe that one either, look it up.) Since the gaff was blown, and has now been admitted to by several ageing politicians, some of whom shamefully are former Labour government ministers, who, amongst other things, have also had to come clean about suppressing information on oil reserves, there are many articles by economists and academics in the public domain which fully detail the facts that Scotland puts more in to the Westminster Treasury than it ever gets out. For many years! The vast majority of the folks I’ve listened to, and conversed with, have the tendency, like myself, if politically aware at all, of being socialist in their opinions, (the traditional heartland view of the people of Scotland). Some, I know, are even more hard-line in left wing opinion than that. Most, and this is crucial, are long term entrenched Labour voters. Then I began to see on social media (you won’t see much of this in the mainstream media) that a steady flow of traditional Scottish Labour politicians, Trade Union leaders and activists have started to defect to the Independence campaign. These are people committed to traditional Labour views of social justice, protecting health and public services and equality, who have become increasingly disenfranchised by a UK Labour Party, run from London, a party who have lost the plot with regards to the traditions of their very creation. In fact it appears they have moved that far to the right that “New” Labour should really consider moving that one step further and get rid of the word Labour altogether and call themselves something else. I’ve heard it said many times over the last few months, by people much wiser than me, and I suspect it’s true, that the attitudes and values of the people of Scotland, held for many years, have not changed with regards to social justice and a fair society. The only thing that has changed in that regard is that the parties who are supposed to represent these views, and politics in general in the UK, have lurched to the right, and are getting further out of touch with their electorate north of the border. I’m a firm believer that an Independent Scotland provides a fantastic opportunity for a better future for Scots. As Pat Kelly, former Labour Leader of the Scottish Trades Union Congress, and a strong advocate for the Yes Campaign, says “The UK governments, both Tory and Labour, have been drifting steadily to the right over the past 30 years, and that will continue”. “To woo voters in the south of England, the Labour Party has lost sight of its core values. It even promises to be tougher than the Tories on benefit cuts, immigration and public spending”. “In contrast, Scotland has a left-of-centre majority and the political competition is between two social democratic parties. Once the Labour Party in Scotland is released from the strait-jacket of London HQ control then there is a real prospect that it will rediscover the moral compass it has lost”. This steady and increasing shift, or “coming out” by Scottish Labour voters and activists in their individual voter preference, almost epiphany like, has led me to firmly believe, if this significant trend continues, that come the 24 March 2016 history will be made and Scotland will become an Independent self-governing country. With regards to opinions on Independence every Scot is entitled to their own view, one way or the other, and is capable of making their own mind up. I fully respect the opposite view to mine, and those like me. When you read some of these threads debating the various aspects of both campaigns it’s quite depressing to see the level of anger and bile that is generated from fringe eejits in both camps. My view is that a difference of opinion does not constitute a reason to fall out with someone or lose a friendship. At the end of the day, there are different ways of looking at it but everybody with an opinion, either way, is trying to do what they think is best for “their” Scotland. There can be no disagreement about that. The only thing that does concern me about the Referendum, with all the scares and spin, is that many people who are interested in the various important real life aspects of the debate that will affect them, currency, pensions, employment, health, and other issues, are not receiving a balanced view to inform their decision in September. Believe the mainstream media and the stream of politicians and celebrities that will get wheeled out to gaze at you pessimistically, invoking the Private Fraser-like phrase “We’re all doomed” if you are a confirmed No voter, but if you want to look at both sides of the story and get a balanced view, you could do worse than considering clicking on to some of the websites or social media pages of the various groups in favour of Independence, groups like Bella Caledonia, Yes Scotland, Wings Over Scotland, The Common Weal’ and many more. These sites offer insight into how a future Independent Scotland will, and can, work. If you have a question, or a concern, ask them, challenge them, make them work, satisfy yourself about your decision. There are a lot of smart positive committed enthusiastic people, young and old, from all walks of life, who are out there who want to help inform you and can give you the full picture, not just what the politicians and the media want you to think. Please, I implore you, don’t go into a polling booth ignorant of the facts. That would be disrespectful to the process and your fellow country-folk. It is that important. Between now and mid September you’ll not be able to move in the Central Belt of Scotland without tripping over a Labour or Tory politician telling you how great it is staying in the Union. They’ll tell you anything, anything at all, to stop you voting Yes, celebrities by the score, Royal visits to open something or other, promises of investment in some venture or business in Scotland or the Red Arrows flying doon the middle of Sauchiehall Street. The politicians might even venture further north, if they can find it. In fact it has already started. The Tories, the other month, for the very first time, held a cabinet meeting in Scotland! I hear too that the other week David Cameron, on yet another trip to Scotland, has actually said that it would break his heart if Scotland became Independent! I’d bet if a certain auld crone, late of his parish, now of a very warm place far far away under a rock, was still on the go she would tell you the same. You can be sure though that if Scots vote No in September it’ll all go back to normal, and the only time you’ll hear from them again is when they introduce a new austerity measure or they want to test something out on a province before inflicting it on those south of the border. As part of the hard sell of trying to convince Scottish voters to stay in the Union, both the Tories and their Labour partners have recently launched policy initiatives to consider, look into, give thought, workshop, brainstorm, unpack (I hate that one) and review the possibilities of giving Scotland wider devolved powers. That’s original! History often tells us more about the future than the past. If you believe that bit of spin please do a bit of research into what Scots were promised before they went to the voting booths in previous Independence or Devolution Referendums. Find out what was promised, and then check what was actually delivered on most occasions by previous Westminster Governments! They even changed the rules to stop a legitimate democratic decision for the creation of a devolved Scottish Assembly coming to fruition in 1979. Do you believe them? Even if you did believe them why would you find it acceptable that Scots could have a wee bit more power when, with Independence, Scotland can have it all? That makes no logical sense at all. Bring on tonights debate! There will be no sign of the organ grinder but hell get his comeuppance shortly. Independence brings no promise of a poverty free Nirvana, but a Yes vote in September is a very good start to a long term commitment to building a better future for the children of Scotland.
Posted on: Tue, 05 Aug 2014 05:58:34 +0000
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