In the run up to the referendum I was told by a dear friend, a Yes voter, that if I was not voting Yes, I shouldnt have the right to vote at all. And part of me agreed on some level that this was not my battle to fight and as such I excused myself continuously from both camps campaigns. But as Francesca Martinez says, Accepting yourself as you are is an act of civil disobedience. Because you are thinking for yourself. Much has been said recently about the Yes movement post referendum, how people are taking responsibility for their future and how we are now all political. That may be so to a certain extent as this has captured our imagination and managed to engage us all in debate, in politics and in the exercising of our electoral rights. But it is more about the mass disgruntlement supported by the social media than it is about intelligent debate. I welcome intelligent debate with the accent on intelligent and on debate. That implies looking at facts, searching for information and arriving at reasonable conclusions and explanations, not constructing conspiracy theories to fill the gaps in our expectations. It also implies listening and respecting the views of the other side, rather than putting ones fingers in ones ears and singing the Hockey Cockey (or Rule Britannia, or Flower of Scotland or 500 Miles) at the top of ones voice. To make it absolutely clear to those who dont know my views, I have not voted. Some people have been relieved, some displeased and a number of them judge me for not doing so. I have been very proud of staying out of the debate and of being fairly apolitical for reasons that I will not go into in this post, but its probably enough to say that having lived in two other countries that do not manage to run their democracies quite as well as this one (and I mean the UK), I have been fairly disillusioned with governments and considered my potential electoral involvement neither necessary nor sufficient to affect the outcome of any plebiscite. In the run up to the elections I did start to question my attitudes and my lack of action and now, having watched fairly closely how things have turned out, I am no longer so proud of being so apathetic for so long. For the sake of full disclosure had I voted, I would have voted No. I didnt hide this fact but I didnt shout it from the rooftops either. The truth is that an awful lot of No voters were too scared to express their opinions and to display any sort of joy or relief following the announcement of the results. In fact, most No voters were just massively relieved. Someone I know described it as dodging a bullet. When youve dodged a bullet, you dont usually jump up and down in jubilation, but go home, hug your children, your family and your friends, pour a glass of wine and ponder over the transience of life (and world politics). (This is clearly not a lifestyle choice shared by everyone and in particular by a relatively small number of disruptive characters associated with the Orange Order that chose to show up in Glasgows George Square to rub the joy of their win in the faces of the poor heartbroken ones that lost, but sectarianism has always had a big presence in Glasgow and this is neither the first nor unfortunately the last time that incidents of the sort happen.) I have often joked that I desired independence for about a week, just to have a good party, the way one can only party in Scotland. And after we got over our collective hangover, we could just go back to normal. When the first results started to come in, I wept with relief as many others who wished for unity also did. In the morning and the following day, I watched the waves of sadness and grief from those that saw their dream shattered and almost wished once again that they had got what they so strongly wished for. My heart was breaking for those who genuinely wanted a better Scotland and who genuinely believed that independence would deliver that and the social justice thats been the catch phrase throughout this campaign. I was mistakenly thinking that when the referendum finished and the choice of the people became clear everyone would be able to get on with their lives, making the best of the situation they found themselves in. Unfortunately, what we now have is protracted altercations, dissension, abuse, disaffection, strife, rivalry, discord and antagonism, divided families and communities and an awful lot of hurt going around. What is happening in Scotland (and most particularly all over the social media) is really painful to watch and I struggle to think of one person I know who has not been affected socially on a very personal level by the referendum. Within mere hours of the referendum results I saw the sadness, grief and bewilderment turn into disbelief, denial, anger and vitriolic rage towards those that voted to remain an important and vital part of the UK. Those that voted No did so for their own reasons and one cannot assume to know exactly what these were. The response from the Yes camp in their disappointment has been bewildering. Instead of accepting the simple explanation that perhaps the Yes campaign has been unable to convince the large majority of the benefits of an independent Scotland and those that chose to remain in the Union have done so also for love of family and country, they have instead chosen blame-gaming and scapegoating, which to me is lacking in any ability to take responsibility. All we now hear about from the self styled marginalised 45% (because 44.7 doesnt quite have the same ring to it) is talk of conspiracies, vote rigging, fear of broken promises, not watching the BBC anymore, not reading the newspapers any longer (except the One that tells us what we want to hear), getting our news from random blogposts on social media that incite to more division and more strife, not going to Asda (except to buy cheap booze) and joining the SNP in droves (the same party many yes voters vowed to get rid off, come independence). It is hard not to understand those who never wished for this debate, who never wanted the arguments or to have to defend themselves in ways they never anticipated, who were forced to voice an opinion on issues which they did not see as issues and who were forced to choose loyalties. The language of division is rife too. To one camp, No voters are gullible and stupid, selfish and scum, choosing to be shat upon by Westminster and the Yes voters are defiant and passionate. To the other camp, the Yes voters are rude, aggressive and uneducated (and interestingly, also scum, which would suggest we still have some things in common), spewing nonsense and needing to suck it up, whilst the No voters are responsible and polite. I cannot make sweeping statements about all Yes voters being of a sort and all No voters being of another because sweeping statements (together with all encompassing promises) are the job of politicians, but we cannot continue to treat each other as if we are two different species. I cant even say whether being shat upon by Westminster is any better than being shat upon by Hollyrood. All I can say is that my personal experience in all this has been of divided families and of broken friendships. People who turned against me completely because of my beliefs (not even my vote, remember!). I have witnessed friend calling friend a traitor to this country due to their differing choices, people insulting each other in the most horrendous ways and vowing never to speak to one another again. But I have also seen people on both sides of the divide being reasonable and having civilised conversations and humbly exchanging thoughts and opinions. As far as I have experienced for the twenty odd years that I have lived in this country, the Scots love Scotland and want what is best for her; I have never yet met one who doesnt. And get this: so do the English. (In fact, I have never encountered anti - Scottish sentiment in England, yet it would be a little more difficult to say that the reverse is true). Personally, I am tired of the smear campaign against the English, the blaming and the name calling. England is not the enemy of Scotland and love for this island is not a zero sum game. And it appears that instead of moving on graciously, we have added to our list of enemies: in addition to England, Hamas and ISIS, we now have the No voters too. The game of independence was played on the political arena with the SNP following their own agenda. Of course theres a considerable number of years of history which each side can use to their own advantage but isnt the geography of this island that we all share more important than the bickering arguments of the the past? We are a lot more similar than we are different and what unites us is more than what divides us. Much has been said about social justice particularly over the last few weeks over social media. Mr. Salmond talked about bringing change to Scotland and turning it into a fairer, juster society. He reiterated that even if there was but one person more in favour of the union, he would accept this as the sovereign will of the people. In fact, does The Edinburgh Agreement not state that both parties are to respect the outcome of the referendum, whatever that may be? In his first post result speech, Mr. Salmond appeared gracious, accepting the choice of the majority and urging everyone to do so as well. However, once again the mood changed within mere hours. The dream of independence would never be given up, the SNP would bring it about with a minority rule and without the mandate of the people. Where is the social justice in this? Where are the basic manners in accepting a differing point of view and the ability to take responsibility? And responsibility is what Mr. Salmond should take first and foremost, for he has split the country in half and whilst he has plentiful opportunities to put the vote rigging conspiracy to bed, he chooses not to, for a divided nation suits his own purpose. It would be naive to assume that political agenda does not play the biggest part in this. That there is no lack of information and disinformation on both sides. There are a number of exit poll results circulating, which each side conveniently splits into different age groups to suit their own purpose. These poll results and the various videos that allegedly prove foul play prove nothing in the end, except that they are the torn in our side, the torn that turns neighbour against neighbour and friend against friend. All that we know for sure is that 2 Million people of different ages from different parts of Scotland voted No and that 1.6 Million people of different ages from different parts of Scotland voted Yes. Not a landslide but significant enough to be a decisive majority. We must now respect democracy and peoples right to an opinion. We must also try to heal the rift in our society. We all love Scotland but we just happen to love it in different ways. Our views on what is best for her can be discussed in peace. Nationalism does not bring about peace; it is laden with negativity in both thought and action. To paraphrase Orwell, patriotism is the love of ones country, nationalism is the hate of everyone elses. He further says: By ‘nationalism’ I mean first of all the habit of assuming that human beings can be classified like insects and that whole blocks of millions or tens of millions of people can be confidently labelled ‘good’ or ‘bad’(1). But secondly — and this is much more important — I mean the habit of identifying oneself with a single nation or other unit, placing it beyond good and evil and recognising no other duty than that of advancing its interests. Nationalism is not to be confused with patriotism. Both words are normally used in so vague a way that any definition is liable to be challenged, but one must draw a distinction between them, since two different and even opposing ideas are involved. By ‘patriotism’ I mean devotion to a particular place and a particular way of life, which one believes to be the best in the world but has no wish to force on other people. Patriotism is of its nature defensive, both militarily and culturally. Nationalism, on the other hand, is inseparable from the desire for power. The abiding purpose of every nationalist is to secure more power and more prestige, not for himself but for the nation or other unit in which he has chosen to sink his own individuality. [...] Every nationalist is capable of the most flagrant dishonesty, but he is also — since he is conscious of serving something bigger than himself — unshakeably certain of being in the right. As a nation, we are fairly isolated here at the edge of Europe and it was often felt that world lay a burden of expectations for a Hollywoodesque outcome. Thats too heavy a burden for a small nation of 5 million. A nation that in its majority wants to be part of a thing bigger than itself (like the European Union for instance). Those that desired independence got a democratic referendum and the sovereign will of the people chose. It may not be what a lot of people agree with but this must be unquestionably accepted in a democracy. We remain together, yet we have never been more divided. Still, this debate has now captured our imagination and the dream for a better country for ourselves and our children is alive with us all. There are reasonable and efficient ways of taking this further without causing any more rifts in a already divided society. Campaign for what you believe in, but make sure that it does not take away the civil and constitutional liberties of others. Start your own party, but stay away from divisiveness. First of all, try to understand the opinions and motivations of the other side. Get together with your friends, be they Yes or No voters, and have intelligent debate over a glass of wine or whisky. Particularly costly whisky, if you care about the economy. (Personally, I tried that and it was just about working when I peeked at my depressing social media feed again and as Frida Kahlo famously put it, I tried to drown my sorrows but the bastards learned how to swim.) . Alternatively, share a cup of kindness yet for auld lang syne. And do not repeat my mistake of abstaining from the whisky.
Posted on: Wed, 24 Sep 2014 17:05:56 +0000
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