Tony Reekie posted this astonishingly beautiful response to the outcome of the Scottish Referendum. It speaks far beyond the UK borders, to so many countries, to so many hearts. and I wanted to make sure to share it in its entirety. So here it goes: youtube/watch?v=dYLcxR-SGwE Haud yer wheest. I loved hearing that from my granny even when it was directed at me for my blethering. It means be quiet!, or enough of your talk or nonsense. So after tonight this is enough of my nonsense for a long while. Ive loved the talks, the giggles, the furies and even a bit of the pain that im feeling right now. Makes you feel alive, and I cant remember when the last time that politics did that. For friends outside this country its worth knowing that when the referendum was proposed the potential vote for YES was around 30-35%. Always had been. To get so close is amazing in itself in a land where people, though leaning towards the left, are naturally cautious. I am not a nationalist. Never have been and never will be. Most YES voters werent nationalists too. If we have been given the option of further powers of devolution as another option - a third way - then there is little doubt that that option would have won comfortably. But it wasnt an option, till the very end where the powers were panicked into offering us more control in Scotland. Whether that helped shift the momentum in time is not not clear, or whether the incredible, ceaseless bombardment from state, establishment and media made people so fearful that the final step was too much. It may have simply been for some that the jump in itself felt too big. Two years ago I perhaps may have felt the same. But for me it wasnt about independence. It was about imagining a new way of conducting our lives politically and socially. The status quo, which we have endorsed to a degree last night, not only accepts that children live in poverty but actually requires it in order to survive. I dont believe that it is right or inevitable and I believe that what was started in a small way in these discussions was talk about something new, something hopeful for everyone, not just the privileged few. The most depressing thing about last night was the shift back to party politics, that they have to go away and offer something back to our government and.....what changes? Tiny bits around the edges. Devo-lite to Devo-meaningless and nothing that makes people excited and engaged about politics in the way this referendum has. I hope with all my heart that the progression, the engagement with the young, can continue and find a heart and a voice, not within the political system, but deep within our communities. Power, indeed, to the people. Im blethering now and its time for the blethering to stop. I was going to put on a bit of music, something rebellious or funny. Id still recommend National Shite Day by Half Man Half Biscuit for a cheery interlude. But then I started listening to King Creosote and when Aurora Boring Alias came on a half five this morning the utter beauty of it had me greetin like the bairn my Granny would tell to haud my wheest! My wheest, granny, is haud.
Posted on: Sat, 20 Sep 2014 12:39:13 +0000
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