by Hume » Thu Sep 11, 2014 2:58 pm
Not patronised by that at all, Govangirl.
I suppose I have tried to post a mix of head and heart stuff over the last few weeks and months. You don't know what appeals to anyone who is reading and might make the difference in how they vote.
I decided, I suppose a number of years ago now, that I would contribute to this debate in the hope I could make at least one person see the merits of independence, because that one person might be able to persuade another 10 people and so on. Normally, I am an eternal fence sitter with very few strong opinions, which comes from being able to see both sides of the argument.
If its possible to separate the head and heart stuff, I guess the country v region is the heart stuff. My head and my heart both say Yes and as I've said to people whilst we will be asked to answer one question at the polling station, I see it as being in two parts, which is where the head comes in.
The first part is to ask ourselves what time of society we want, or don't want, to live in.
I don't want to live in a society where 20% of people are defined as living in poverty. That's circa 1 million in Scotland, including 100,000 children, which is projected to double by 2020.
I don't want to live in a society where, despite around 70% opposition, public institutions like Royal Mail can be sold off for the primary benefit of rich individuals, those same rich individuals who make large donations to the political parties that shape policies for their mutual benefit.
I don't want to live in a society where there is a systematic transfer of wealth from those least well off to those who are most well of and is the fourth most unequal in the developed world.
I don't want to live in a society where people, even some of those with jobs, cannot afford to buy food or have to choose to go without just so their kids can have a semi decent meal. Or where people have to be selective about the foods they buy because they cannot afford the electricity to heat certain thing up.
I don't want to live in a society that wants to replace nuclear weapons which are not only economically but morally obscene.
I don't want to live in a society where people we don't vote for implement policies we don't vote for and come up to Scotland to tell us why we are better off the way we are and that our world will collapse if we dare to challenge their cosy lifestyles.
I don't want to live in a society where the state broadcaster acts in a way to preserve this current situation.
I could go on.
Now, I'm sure there are many No voters who will agree with some of those points. This is where part two comes in. How do you best go about achieving the kind of society you want to live in?
Is it via a No vote, where we will have no influence? A No vote where we can only realistically have more of the same. The evidence is there, we have been living through it for over 30 years.
Or is it via a Yes vote where we will be in total control of our society, where we will only ever get a government we elect?
That is what this is about. Its not about parties, politicians, saltires, passports or nationalism its about self determination. Having the ability to determine the way we want our society to be. We can only do that with independence. We've tried voting Labour. We've done it in Scotland for 60 years and it doesn't help. We now need to vote for change.
What we have experienced over the last few days from the BBC tells you all you need to know. Utterly criminal from a supposedly impartial public broadcaster. Wall to wall coverage of Better Together propaganda. Lies, stories being twisted, mis-leading reporting, facts being omitted, all to preserve the current set up and an affront to democracy.
Will we be swayed by it? Yes, I'm sure some people will. This barrage has come on the back of one Yougov poll putting Yes on 51%. If there has been a swing to Yes over the last few weeks, which seems pretty clear, then before you cast your vote next Thursday ask yourself if anything has actually changed or is this just a last ditch desperate attempt to scare the Scots in to toeing the line.
The fundamentals have not changed. This is a real chance for change and even if you don't believe that, we can hardly be any worse off, so maybe just go with your heart.
Should Scotland be an Independent country?
Yes, I believe Scotland is a country and should therefore govern itself.
No, Scotland is not a country it is simply part of the UK and should therefore be governed from London.
