imagine if the question had been are you happy with how Westminster operates, which is a distinct and different proposition from independence - I doubt youd find a person in Scotland who would be able to say they are. But that wasnt the question, and I think thats something really worth remembering here. Every No voter Ive spoken to has a sense of shame and embarassment for their feelings of betrayal, not so much No Thanks as Not Convinced. Anyway, its done now and the question is, where do we go from here? Well, if you watched any of the coverage last night then perhaps like me you were consistently disappointed in the fact that so much of what was going on was through old, white, affluent men in expensive suits. Round table panels of privilege and class distinction thats so easily alienating. People that arent really like me or the people in my life. If you join a political party you can have a say. You can go to a meeting and youll probably be the youngest person there by twenty years but youll be bringing fresh insight and perspective, and you can have an effect on how policy is formed and shaped and take the chance to really push the values you believe in while having your own beliefs and ideas challenged and shaped. The Greens and the Socialists are still practically fringe groups in Scotland, while the Labour party seems to have no direction or distinction any more - these are parties that need members with enthusiasm and hope to steer them forward. Theres also some great volunteer groups and organisations out there. Yesterday I donated £30 to the Humanist Society Scotland and emailed to see about volunteering with LGBT Youth Scotland because those are two causes that matter to me but there are literally so many organisations out there that could benefit from people like you and me. We are stuck with a flawed, poor parliament system right now and thats really not ideal. But we can channel all this energy and potential and keep the momentum going in different ways. The next General Election and the future of Scotland does not have to be a foregone conclusion and I hate the idea that were writing ourselves off already.
Posted on: Fri, 19 Sep 2014 14:11:21 +0000
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