I watched last night's Scotland Tonight and one of the contributors was the editor of a Irish newspaper. In a discussion he had with a constitutional expert, the difference between our debate and say Ireland's & India's was that the economy did not come into it. I was not around when their independence happened so I have to take their word for it. Why does it seem so important in our discussions?
I think a lot of it has to do with our history. We came into the Union because we were a so called 'failed state' or that is what we have always been told. Since then it has been hammered into us and still is. Look at the perception that the rest of the UK have of us. Ask almost any English person and almost unanimously they will say, they subsidise Scotland. One of the first thing that a national media commenter will ask Salmond , as on last night's Newsnight, is about the black hole between expenditure & income. When people in a country have been told for over 300 years they live in a poor country and they should be grateful of the handouts given to them by the other countries in the Union, it is hard not to believe it. That was one reason the McCrone report was hidden for 30 years, it blew that myth apart.
The UK government knows how well this lie has worked in the past but is it working now? It still is to a large percentage of the population. People in Scotland are still saying we are too poor to go alone and like anyone the fear of being financially worse off is a big point. We all want to give our children the best life we can. Pride in the country is rising, as is wanting a clear voice in government. That has been seen in the rise of the SNP, as the only party who will talk for Scotland.
Is Independence only about money? No, of course not. It is important to prove to people in Scotland they will not be worse off. Scotland & the Scots have an identity that they are proud of. I was born in England but count myself as a Scot, I always have done. I would always tell people my father is Scottish and under Scot's law I can call myself Scottish. I still have no idea if this is true or not. I live here and have done so since I was 11 in 1963, on & off. My parents are buried here, my son's ashes are scattered here. Scotland is in my heart and always has been and it is here that I want to spend the rest of my time. I believe that it has shaped a large part of me.
I find it hard to define what I mean by being Scottish. Can you describe love? When I had to move away for work, I knew I would always return, that this is the place I wanted to live. When i live here I find I am more at peace with the world. I am not going to compare Scotland to England as I respect England too much and also I believe it is a fruitless argument. We are 2 nations, proud of our heritages, proud of our people and we should be respectful of each other. Can we be that if we are not two independent countries?
A looming crisis that is on the horizon is making me think that more devolution will not be enough. The crisis is Iran. We seem to creeping towards a war with them. Whether it will end up with troops going in or it will be restricted to air & sea, we will see. This again is due WMD's just as Iraq was meant to be. That was a war we did not want to enter and Iran I believe would not be sanctioned by a Scottish government. If we had devo-max or a federal state as the LibDem's want, could we stop it? I don't think so, England would out vote us. Because of they size they would be able to do on all or most devolved issues.
Can we be classed as nation if we do not have control over what happens to our people or our relationship with the world? We as a people do not want WMD's on our soil, in a federal/devo-max country we won't be able to move them. Even in an independent country it will take a while but they would be moved once a English port was built for them.
Nationhood is one where its people can control its own policies and say no when it feel a path is wrong. As the world itself become more integrated, I know treaties and big corporations will restrict what we can do but at least we will have our own voice. We can say this is what we want to do. I don't see how devo-max will allow that.
This means that no matter how many questions on the referendum paper when 2014 comes, my cross will be for Full Independence. I want to be part of a nation, my nation, Scotland because I love Scotland. Once Independent then I want to fight to elect a true liberal government, which means I will be fighting for the Scottish LibDem. My party, in my country, with its own voice in the world.
I think a lot of it has to do with our history. We came into the Union because we were a so called 'failed state' or that is what we have always been told. Since then it has been hammered into us and still is. Look at the perception that the rest of the UK have of us. Ask almost any English person and almost unanimously they will say, they subsidise Scotland. One of the first thing that a national media commenter will ask Salmond , as on last night's Newsnight, is about the black hole between expenditure & income. When people in a country have been told for over 300 years they live in a poor country and they should be grateful of the handouts given to them by the other countries in the Union, it is hard not to believe it. That was one reason the McCrone report was hidden for 30 years, it blew that myth apart.
The UK government knows how well this lie has worked in the past but is it working now? It still is to a large percentage of the population. People in Scotland are still saying we are too poor to go alone and like anyone the fear of being financially worse off is a big point. We all want to give our children the best life we can. Pride in the country is rising, as is wanting a clear voice in government. That has been seen in the rise of the SNP, as the only party who will talk for Scotland.
Is Independence only about money? No, of course not. It is important to prove to people in Scotland they will not be worse off. Scotland & the Scots have an identity that they are proud of. I was born in England but count myself as a Scot, I always have done. I would always tell people my father is Scottish and under Scot's law I can call myself Scottish. I still have no idea if this is true or not. I live here and have done so since I was 11 in 1963, on & off. My parents are buried here, my son's ashes are scattered here. Scotland is in my heart and always has been and it is here that I want to spend the rest of my time. I believe that it has shaped a large part of me.
I find it hard to define what I mean by being Scottish. Can you describe love? When I had to move away for work, I knew I would always return, that this is the place I wanted to live. When i live here I find I am more at peace with the world. I am not going to compare Scotland to England as I respect England too much and also I believe it is a fruitless argument. We are 2 nations, proud of our heritages, proud of our people and we should be respectful of each other. Can we be that if we are not two independent countries?
A looming crisis that is on the horizon is making me think that more devolution will not be enough. The crisis is Iran. We seem to creeping towards a war with them. Whether it will end up with troops going in or it will be restricted to air & sea, we will see. This again is due WMD's just as Iraq was meant to be. That was a war we did not want to enter and Iran I believe would not be sanctioned by a Scottish government. If we had devo-max or a federal state as the LibDem's want, could we stop it? I don't think so, England would out vote us. Because of they size they would be able to do on all or most devolved issues.
Can we be classed as nation if we do not have control over what happens to our people or our relationship with the world? We as a people do not want WMD's on our soil, in a federal/devo-max country we won't be able to move them. Even in an independent country it will take a while but they would be moved once a English port was built for them.
Nationhood is one where its people can control its own policies and say no when it feel a path is wrong. As the world itself become more integrated, I know treaties and big corporations will restrict what we can do but at least we will have our own voice. We can say this is what we want to do. I don't see how devo-max will allow that.
This means that no matter how many questions on the referendum paper when 2014 comes, my cross will be for Full Independence. I want to be part of a nation, my nation, Scotland because I love Scotland. Once Independent then I want to fight to elect a true liberal government, which means I will be fighting for the Scottish LibDem. My party, in my country, with its own voice in the world.
A very moving piece. Thank you.
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