Re: Scottish Indepence YES or NO?
I'm not fussed either way, but the independence debate has reinforced my belief that nationalism is an evil ideology that deserves to be booted back into the stone age, where it belongs.
I hate the tories as much as the next man, but in the SNP I see something deeply sinister, something we thought our forebears had defeated in the twentieth century. I do not mean nazism or communism per se, but a way of thinking about oneself and others that places undue emphasis on where one is born, but the idea that the Scottish proletarian has more in common with the rich and middle classes than with the proletarian of England, Wales, Northern Ireland, or any other place. And look at the SNP - they are not even left wing. They plan to reduce the rate of tax on the highest earners, to reduce corporation tax, and they are already privatising the Scottish NHS (which is fully under the control of the devolved parliament, despite the lies told by the SNP). The SNP are little more than tartan tories, so let's not pretend that an independent Scotland under SNP rule (as it would be for a time) would be a socialist utopia - far form it. It would be a utopia for the likes of Brian Souter, the homophobic, bigoted millionaire who owns Stagecoach and donates millions to the SNP in return for the SNP deciding not to re-regulate bus services in Scotland.
But this is getting away from the central point. Why can anybody here vote yes when the yes campaign have not been able to explain the most fundamental details to the electorate. We have no idea what currency would be used, except that there would be no currency union with the UK; we have no idea how Scotland would defend its maritime territory, including the strategically important GIUK gap, and we know Scotland would be outside the EU for a time, until entry could be negotiated. I know the answer, of course, We all do. The arguments that have convinced the YES voters to vote YES are largely emotional. There's nothing much wrong with that. There are no absolutes in politics, and everything eventually comes down to emotion - whether we're talking about what social justice is, or punishment for crimes, or tax rates.
This is not really about urging people to vote one way or another. Just vote the way you believe to be best, and the rest of us will respect the outcome, and wish you luck if you do choose to go it alone. Peace, brother.