Today is the Day
Last night I gave an interview to BBC News Live from Holyrood. It felt like a pointless affair. But after, on the way up the Canongate, an amazing thing happened. Through the haar came thousands of people. The chant was ‘Hope not Fear’, ‘Bairns not Bombs’, ‘Yes We Can’. Wave after wave they came from nowhere out of the fog. Down down the High Street we came and surrounded the parliament.
I remember Alasdair Gray writing years ago that if we had our own parliament we ‘could surround it’. This was fiction on the streets.
The Canongate has a radical history, but this ‘mob’ was peaceful and full of joy. There was lots of kids, lots of young folk, everyone was calm but exultant.
People took photographs and hugged each other and wondered what was happening. It was as if life was accelerating.
We stood in front of a parliament, dreaming of it becoming a democracy.
Today is the day. Not another.
Scotland is awakening. If we are to seize the opportunities emerging in communities across the country, now is the time to be brave and do things differently. We must explore new paths to realise our potential together. This is the realisation of the Yes movement.
I feel immensely proud of being part of this movement we’ve built together, and of all the huge hard work and personal sacrifice so many people have put into making this moment possible. Something Lesley Riddoch said struck me, something about “People giving their whole selves to this movement”, and this is what we’ve done. That’s rare and that’s precious whatever happens now.
To all of the amazing people who are part of his movement I say thank you.
I’m going to vote now. I’m going to vote for hope not fear.
If not us, then who? If not now, then when?
We can do it. 🙂
It feels like history in the making.
Less than six hours Clootie, then we’ll see. 😉
The Edinburgh Mob used to be viewed with trepidation. The occasional lynching or throwing of dead cats at the judiciary enlivened town life considerably 200 years ago. The Peeps were summoned by drum and the display of a blue blanket on a pole. This great old tradition needs resurrecting but their might be difficulty getting hold of a “Blue Blanket” in this era of the ubiquitous duvet.
I still have a good woollen blanket,in a cupboard.used for an under-blanket during winter,although no longer being used,double glazing and central heating,but we have had this blanket for 40 years,must hold some other memories and I’m not telling.
This crowd was the backdrop to Sky News interviewing a No supporter (Michelle Mone OBE?). When he finished, he mentioned the crowd and she said “I just hope it doesn’t turn violent.” Even the interviewer looked disgusted by her remark.
My I wish you a smoked salmon for breakfast tomorrow morning?
To all yes voters-
How many job loses do you think is acceptable to achieve your dream of independence?
How many home repossessions do you think is acceptable to achieve your dream of independence?
Both will definitely happen to ordinary working class scots as a direct result of independence!
My answer to both questions is None!
What is yours?
Think about it………VOTE NO!
Are you still wasting your time on here you effing clown?
@Sure Scot
“Will definitely”? Have you a crystal ball?
As Voltaire said (though in French!) – “Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is absurd.”
So what you are saying is that the number of job losses and home repossessions that will continue under the current “No” setup is at a level currently acceptable to you?
You can see why people might think that voting Yes for the opportunity for a lower number is worth taking …
I don’t think we can afford dependence much longer.
Agreed. As some wise people once said:
“Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.”
“The welfare culture tells the man he is not a necessary part of the family; he feels dispensable, his wife knows he is dispensable, and his children sense it. The man loses his self respect and the respect of his family.”
“We contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.” “However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results.”
“To cure the British disease with socialism was like trying to cure leukaemia with leeches.”
“Democracy and socialism have nothing in common but one word, equality. But notice the difference: while democracy seeks equality in liberty, socialism seeks equality in restraint and servitude.”
“You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity, by legislating the wealth out of prosperity.
What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving.
The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else.”
“When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work, because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is socialism and the beginning of the end of any nation.”
“I think we’ve been through a period where too many people have been given to understand that if they have a problem, it’s the government’s job to cope with it. ‘I have a problem, I’ll get a grant.’ ‘I’m homeless, the government must house me.’ They’re casting their problem on society. And, you know, there is no such thing as society. There are individual men and women, and there are families. And no government can do anything except through people, and people must look to themselves first. It’s our duty to look after ourselves and then, also to look after our neighbour. People have got the entitlements too much in mind, without the obligations. There’s no such thing as entitlement, unless someone has first met an obligation.”
“I came to office with one deliberate intent: to change Britain from a dependent to a self-reliant society — from a give-it-to-me, to a do-it-yourself nation.”
“Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.”
It’s funny I was asking someone what the uk economy was based on this morning. In the words of nick robinson, there wasn’t an answer.
I’ll sum it up for you – tax payer backed Ponzi scheme.
@ “sure scot”, dinnae talk pish.
Well, if No wins we shall hold all of you Noes accountable for the shape of things to come. If you think that the UK is a safe and successful economy, and has a bright and prosperous future, then you are a hedge fund trader or bank boss (or you’ve been immersed in the mainstream media). When the next inevitable bank crash comes, the UK will have reached the end of the road that it’s been kicking the can down. it is not a sustainable or healthy economy, and restructuring will be difficult/impossible given the sclerotic and elitist nature of Westminster. In 10 years time I’ll still be wearing my Yes badge as a reminder of what could have been.
Your reasoning, Sure Scot, seems to me illogical. The conclusion ought to be to VOTE YES!, since Scottish rule is due to be the direct result of independence for Scotland. You will therefore be in a position to avoid your fears’ outcome to occur.
Likewise, as I would like a Catalan rule for Catalonia, I will vote yes in our not-yet-recognised-by-the-Spanish-government-“because-it’s-illegal” poll next 9 November.
Unfortunately we have not the same democratic guarantees as you Scots do have!
Michel de Chez Saint
Just vote no…for the City’s sake.
As usual with those of you on the negative dark side, you give no evidence to back up your claims. These are mere negative soundbites. Stephen Watson has called you out with his clarity and reasoning and kindly quoted Voltaire for you. We have actually thought about it and you are arrogant if you think we have not.
Heartbreaking to read all the stories of ordinary people putting their ‘whole selves into this movement’. Just another Scottish glorious failure. How silly were we to believe that the English establishment would allow a vote for self-determination to stand?
Back to business as usual. Lots of expenses rung up during the No campaign. After all, there is a general election to organise and a further referendum on the EU. What was it they promised the Scots? More devolved powers? Too busy to think about that now.
Cheer up, Bill – we’re transforming politics as we know it- it’s all good! 🙂
Have you got a cracked crystal ball, too?
What EU referendum? If Miliband is PM this time next year, he won’t stage that referendum, because he opposes democracy and he’s pro-EU. If Cameron is still PM this time next year, he won’t stage that referendum, because he also opposes democracy and is pro-EU, and he has a list of broken ‘cast iron guarantees’ as long as your arm.
Whatever your views – I wish far fewer of us would stop using the Wee Man from The Wee Nation stance to base our arguments. Its not about an English Establishment man – a good portion of those in power at Westminster are Scots and voted into power in UK elections by Scots. You have to think big and talk bigger to be independent if thats what you want…
thank you Mike, another lovely piece of writing. You have been inspirational.
Absol
Labour would destroy Scotland so they could ive in the ruins.
Absolutely. The Labour party once again reveals its historic function- to neutralise genuine working class insurgency and replace it with dependency and conformism. I never used to believe this, but I cannot deny the evidence of the past few months.
”Doctor” John Reid, Stalins grandad, said ” If you’re a little bit mixed up on who to vote for, just don’t bother voting.” Love the disenfranchisement of the democratic right to vote. What a creep.
That’s been their intention in England for ages, so why would they treat Scotland differently?
“Rupert Murdoch and the Corruption of the British Media”
http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=14556&page=1
“The real enemies of press freedom are in the newsroom”
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jun/30/censorship-newsroom-freedom-of-expression
A recommendation: read “Wisdom from Poland” on Craig Murray’s site if you haven’t already done so.
“Westminster has been a serial abuser of Scotland”
http://wolfstreet.com/2014/09/15/run-scotland-run/
Wonderful words, Mike 🙂 So good to hear our personal and collective experiences from around the country, as we go to the polls at last: here is my own path to the voting booth; http://claregalloway.com/2014/09/18/my-journey-to-yes/ See you all on the other (positive!) side! 😀
No is the progressive vote that will bring more devolution.
Independence and seperation is a huge unnecessary gamble with our future our children and our grandchildren’s futures!
VOTE NO!
Never thought I’d hear a Scot admit they were afraid of independence and having responsibility for their own and their children’s futures. Apparently the socialist brainwashing over the past 3 generations has been very effective.
A no vote will bring nothing other than what the British establishment, through Westminster, is willing to concede. The signs are the Vow is already broken. Brown knows that. He is a quisling.
I believe in the event of a no vote the Scottish government would be entitled to declare UDI as the Scottish people and our democracy have been totally undermined by the lies, scaremongering and misrepresentation from our political enemies.
The requirement would be for a majority vote in the Scottish Parliament. I cite the case of Kosovo. Kososvo was never an independent state,or an independent anything. Think Rutland. On 17 February 2008 the Kosovo Assembly made a unilateral declaration of independence. The UK recognised Kosovo as an independent state the very next day.
The UN favours independent countries, and has various papers and declarations on the subject generally related to colonies separating from the colonial power.
Now consider what the outcome might be in our case in respect of a UDI? I personally favoured immediate secession as soon as the SNP had the majority of seats, bu they have played nicely and made such a thing more difficult.
If there is a NO vote then those who voted NO will see the error of their ways before the next election to the Scottish Parliament. Westminster will not be voting for the “Vow” as some 500 English MPs are totally pissed off at not being consulted on a better deal and more power to Scotland. It will not happen. After the General Election we can assume more of the same, with a posse of UKIP MPs taking seats.
At the Scottish elections in 2016 there will be a chance to vote in a majority of secessionist MSPs. Many will be from the Labour Party as the penny will have dropped by then. Lamont will be ousted but they do not have a wealth of talent to choose from. At that time UDI is possible, but it will be very dangerous.
A UDI in these circumstances would be an horrifically bad idea, on a par with lying down on a motorway while an articulated lorry comes straight at you driving at 70 miles an hour….Even thinking about declaring a UDI in the event of a No vote is batshit crazy. Who is going to support you in the international community? The answer is nobody. We would have just isolated ourselves and nobody would recognise our independence. The truth is that we need to get over 50 per cent, and preferably as far over that as possible.
“….look out, world, here we come….dancing to the rythm of a different drum…..”
Thank you Mike. Great photos
Incredible to think of 1707, the act of union, ordinary people rioting in the Canongate, and the peaceful democratic yes movement we can have today
SKY news ‘journalist’ pulled a stunt in which he put on a NO t-shirt and walked down the street to see if he got any intimidation, like an egg thrown at him.
I just need to turn on my television and I get an avalanche of intimidation, bullying and threats from the No campaign and their chums, the bankers and global corporations, but I suppose that intimidation is OK !!!
Yes, it’s officially sanctioned, expense account, bonus incentivised, gold cufflinked bullying and intimidation. Somehow seems classier than any other kind.
Scotland the Brave? I think it is time to prove it! C’mon Scotland! Don’t let anyone tell you what to do.
Whatever happens you have lots of support from abroad. This is about giving the power to where it belongs. It is about you all giving us all a lesson throughout Europe about what democracy is all about. Wish you all the best!!! Whatever the outcome.
Wish I could vote. Although I’m not keen on socialism, this American Scot supports you all the way. When YOU decide things don’t work, then YOU can change them. Take control of your destiny. Take responsibility for your future. Vote YES!
If the “Yes” vote wins but the winning margin doesn’t exceed the number of scots denied a vote, (those who are scottish but don’t work/live in Scotland). What the SNP/Westminster done was in my opinion illegal under international law, the SNP/Westminster cannot take a persons nationality off them, what the SNP/Westminster should have done was made it public that scots who worked/lived abroad could have a vote if they came back to Scotland, proved their right to vote and register, then it was upto them to do so, they could not say they were denied a vote.
The SNP/Westminster did not do this!!!, the election is null and void under international law, no matter what agreement was in place between SNP/Westminster.
Hah, thats the most bat shit mental comment I’ve ever read !
tartanfever, your reply is that of a fascist. You should go and read up on what being a democrat means…..
“The definition of a democrat is a member of the democratic political party or someone who believes in equality for all people and ruling by the majority.”
It should also be remembered that the snp have told the people of the Orkney and Shetland islands that they have no right to their own self-determination.
The contradictions and double standards of the ‘Yes’ campaign are there for all to see. The blame for this lies squarely with those who lead it: the untrustworthy and duplicitous SNP. Salmond’s party denounces the bedroom tax’ but failed to help Labour and the Lib Dems to repeal its most damaging effects a couple of weeks ago in Parliament. They claim that the Tories is completely to blame for an undermining of our NHS and yet with a majority rule in Holyrood spend less of a share on the Scottish NHS than Westminster does south of the border.
The SNP asserts it wants a green and sustainable Scotland but its project is dependent on the sale of oil. It accuses the London elite of being imperialist and rejects nuclear weapons but intends to join NATO – an organisation reliant on and led by the world’s most powerful nuclear state: the US. It claims that England and London in particular are too right-wing and governed by corporate interests and yet among Salmond’s primary goals is to lower the business rates in order to undercut the rest of the UK.Salmond denies that he is motivated by anti-English sentiment and yet has done nothing to curb the excesses of the Anglophobes who are part of the ‘Yes’ campaign.
Furthermore he bases the case for independence on the need for Scotland to be independent (from the UK) but simultaneously supports Scotland’s membership of the EU which clearly reduces its independence. And not only does he make promises he can’t keep about Scotland remaining part of the EU with all the opts out (including permission to not have the Euro) on Sunday he lied about having the prior agreement of Italy, France, Spain and Belgium to be immediately allowed back in without any conditions live on British television. (All countries have since denied that they have committed to anything of the sort).
Finally realising just how significant to Scotland its trade with England is he is forced to pledge that the currency union will remain despite almost everyone else in the UK pointing out that they will not sanction such a deal. But Salmond merely refuses to accept this obstacle to his plan and threatens the rest of the UK that if they don’t submit an independent Scotland will then refrain from paying its share of the national debt! (Even though this would risk financial catastrophe for the brand new nation through the turmoil due to the effects of global markets as investors marked it down as being entirely untrustworthy and stayed away. Meanwhile the UK, while still feeling the effects of an effective 7% shorfall in debt reclamation would undoubtedly be able to withstand this loss.
Despite all this Salmond wants the Scots to trust him to oversee months of secret negotiations with a Tory led government who Scotland apparently despises and who will have widespread support from what remains of the UK to extricate the best deal it can without having to any more concerned about Scottish public opinion than any other foreign nation. And all the while the English, Welsh and Northern Irish are expected to remain best friends with a country that has just spurned them! And what happens if after 18 months or more difficult and opaque negotiations finish Scotland relises that it does not like the outcome?
If the people of Scotland decide to trust Salmond and his entirely unbelievable programme then not only Scotland but the rest of the UK will suffer and we will all be the poorer for it – in evey sense. Fortunately I don’t think enough Scots are that gullible and will today decide to reject the fantasy politics of narrow and parochial nationalism and remember where their best interests remain: as part of both the UK and the EU. Because ultimately most Scots know that the prejudices and delusions of little Scotlanders can no more be relied on as a basis for credible and practical political values than those spouted by little Englanders!
A No vote will leave Scotland entirely in the hands of little Englanders. Yes was always a choice to opt out of narrow and parochial nationalism, and indeed the politics of irrationality and emotion (Farage, Johnson, etc.). Scotland would not be not ‘spurning’ anyone (what childish language)- it would be showing what it was possible to achieve outside of this poisonous framework. Unfortunately I can see a No vote looming, and from that point on all options close down for Scotland except witnessing Westminster descend into the politics of resentment and grievance, shackled by sheer force of numbers (what difference will 4m Scottish voters make to the outcome of the 2017 referendum?). If you want an object lesson in what the Yes campaign was not, watch the forthcoming antics of the anti-Euro brigade in 2017.
The No campaign remains obsessed with Mr Salmond. Poor things.
Will post comments in my own name after today – my vote not as wan as it was yesterday 🙂
Just read some of the (already) gloating replies on the Guardian after last poll put No ahead by 6 points. It’s going to be intolerable if No wins. Fingers crossed.
The No campaign looks back to the past; vote No for the fear to continue.
The Yes campaign looks forward to the future; vote Yes to embrace the hope.
Not long to go until the polls close.
Either our glorious day of freedom – this unique day in all of history is over – or we are free forever.
Thanks for posting Mike.
I enjoyed reading it.
Thanks for this Mike. As others have said, it’s quite something to think that this was the scene of less peaceful riots in the past, but a positive, forward-facing and progressive movement last night. Great stuff. Many thanks too for this wonderful site, which was influential in my own shift from No to Yes over the last year or so.
Here’s an adaptation of a song by a progressive thinker from another time – ‘Changin’ Times in Alba’
http://yfdbru.wordpress.com/2014/09/18/changin-times-in-alba/
Remember this time. Never forget the energies you put out and the connections you made with other people. It might not seem so at the moment, but you made a tremendous difference. I’m sure right now is the shittiest feeling imaginable, but you will come back from this stronger than ever.
A BATTLE MAY HAVE BEEN LOST..THE WAR HAS NOT!
THIS IS NO TIME FOR WALLOWING IN MOROSE FATALISM.
WE MUST FIGHT ON!
A referendum victory won by Project Fear frightening voters into voting NO and last minute lies by the media that there will be Devo-max is not a worthy or legitimate victory – and so despite this setback the campaign must go on.
At the Accord Hospice charity dinner event in Paisley during 2013 Andrew Neil of the Politics Show said:-
“Devolution, the Calman Commission, the Scotland Bill, the Edinburgh Agreement, all of this and more you have, is because Westminster parties are scared of the SNP. If you vote NO you massively change the balance of power and they will not only give you nothing, but will probably take powers away from the Scottish Parliament”.
Honest words indeed from a committed unionist and leading expert on Westminster politics.
Consider this scenario: would a Tory/UKiP coalition after the 2015 UK General Election be likely to have extra powers for Scotland on its policy agenda when they may have not have one single representative here?
Or when they are pre-occupied with the larger constitutional issue of leaving the EU to tackle?
Although a Tory/UKIP coalition would kick devo-whatever into the long grass, it’s unlikely that UKIP will get more than a couple of seats, so such a coalition will probably not happen. Yes, I can see UKIP getting plenty of second or third places across England, but first-past-the-post will ultimately stymie them, as the system’s designed to preserve the LibLabCon cabal’s hegemony.
Truly a sad day! It is disappointing that the “yes” vote did not prevail. But what is really disheartening is to realize that a majority of Scots have been so conditioned over the past 100 years to believe that they are not capable of taking responsibility for their own lives, families and futures.
This vote represents the fact that the majority of the Scots are truly a dependent society with a dependence mentality. They are willing to take whatever the English benevolence or lack of it dishes out to them.
“The welfare culture tells the man he is not a necessary part of the family; he feels dispensable, his wife knows he is dispensable, and his children sense it. The man loses his self respect and the respect of his family.” Is this truly what has happened to a vast number of Scots? Have they lost their self respect and confidence that they can be self-reliant and be responsible adults by taking control of their future without help or dependence on a government handout?
Hate to say it, but this the first time I’m ashamed to admit to my Scottish heritage. My forefathers would be ashamed of and appalled by their ancestors today.
Newsnet Scotland, Wings over Scotland, Bella Caledonia, and all the other websites that have fought so well to provide balanced reporting in the referendum campaign should now join forces in a tactical voting campaign that will capitalise on the now evident disillusionment with Westminster in Glasgow, the West of Scotland, and elsewhere with the purpose of electing as many independence seeking MP’s to Westminster as we can at the UK General Election in May 2015.
For it may very well be that Scotland’s MP’s can hold the balance of power and not only use that to hold the Westminster parties to account for their “Vows” and prevent Westminster attempts to enforce more neo-liberal policies on Scotland but also use their numbers to force very substantial further devolution concessions from whoever is the largest party hoping to form a UK government.
“Newsnet Scotland, Wings over Scotland, Bella Caledonia, and all the other websites that have fought so well to provide balanced reporting in the referendum campaign” – these people did nothing of the sort, they are all avowed and highly partisan supporters of Yes. How deliberately mendacious of you to try to pretend otherwise.
The latter two sources you named did more to harm the Yes campaign than help it with their constantly provocative articles and tweets. We even had Bella giving air time to a well-known and highly divisive figure “tarred with a sickening sectarian brush” immediately after the first and only opinion poll that had Yes in the lead.
Talk about plucking defeat right out the jaws of victory.
The Yes campaign got hijacked by Militants, Marxists and Republicans, thereby totally alienating normal, ordinary Scottish people. If the fanatics hadn’t drowned out the debate we may well have been celebrating our first day of real freedom from Westminster rule.
Partisanship is one thing. Using lies and rank manipulation quite another. And that was the principal mark of the NO campaign!
Highjacked! “militants, marxists and republicans” represent Scottish democratic opinion too. as for “drowning out” the debate, the relentless discordant din of propaganda from the other side obviously didn’t register with you.
Among other things…what an ARCHIVE this blog site is…
The SNP and Greens and Labour for Indy YES supporting parties and YES movement should rapidly capitalise on the setting aside of differences they showed in the YES campaign join forces very soon to form a new single political party with its sole objective a federal Scotland with full fiscal autonomy in time to join the campaign for the May 2015 UK general election, and called e.g. the Scottish Federal Democracy Party.
The voters in Glasgow, Dundee, the West of Scotland, and elsewhere are now clearly disillusioned with the Westminster parties and a new political party with a federal objective can win the support of those voters to elect a very large contingent of pro-federal MP’s to Westminster who could hold the balance of power and ensure Scotland gets a true federal government with full fiscal autonomy.
This new party should be supported by a new federal supporting subscription funded daily online newspaper provide news and video just as most of the large newspapers are now doing in the USA, formed by the merger of Newsnet Scotland, WoS, and Bella Caledonia, and anyone else that supports the federal Scotland objective.
People, go visit derekbateman.co.uk (some of you are probably readers there anyway) and read the thread titled ‘It’s time…’. Somebody has kindly attached a clip from YouTube, which will disgust you, but probably surprise you any. It needs to be spread as widely as possible (unfortunately I’m a technophobe), preferably including a few police detectives’ inboxes.
Should say “probably won’t surprise you any”.
387,979 more voters voted No than Yes… this is equivalent to the last reported estimate of the Don’t Knows…. is it possible the Don’t Knows voted No in the end?
45% of voters voting Yes has moved support for independence up several notches, and a result like this cannot be ignored, or put back in the bottle.
I am hearing that 73% of those aged 65+ voted No… and 71% of those aged 16-17 voted Yes….
This is is both worrying and reassuring… worrying, in the sense that it creates fertile grounds for ageism, but reassuring in that it means that time and the changing demographic will eventually see this alter in favour of Yes, so that the British establishment cannot conclude that it is safe.
Yet this statistic does not tally with my own experience, which was that a good percentage of pensioners were voting Yes, not a majority perhaps, but far more than 25%… more like 45%.
What has been others’ experience?
Great disappointment. NO won. 55.4%. YES 44.6%. We’ll deserve what we’ll get when our Block Grant is cut; we have to start cutting back on our social services; start to privatise our NHS; under the transatlantic trade and investment partnership (TTIP) American health companies enter into our healthcare market (no longer service); start to pay for prescriptions; Senior Citizens and people on benefits have their free bus passes taken away; our taxes rise etc.. The NO voters will kick themselves when these things begin to happen, but won’t be able to do anything about it.
Sadly, the referendum was stolen by Westminster and Project Fear and the three stooges when they insinuated into people’s minds that they would not really be voting NO, but voting for MORE POWERS for HOLYROOD, the very thing Cameron had refused to permit on the ballot. I’m astonished that the people of our nation should be sovereign for a day, and choose to give that sovereignty to our neighbouring nation. We deserve being mocked by the rest of the world.
Unfortunately, the Scots are being mocked by the rest of the world and pitied for their evident dependency mentality on a English government.
Those Scots who voted “No”, no longer deserve to call themselves Scots but should instead embrace the Sassenach label.
Aside from the strategic error of an overlong campaign, the weakness of Yes Scotland is notable. The SNP leaders were this campaign. That it got even this far is largely due to them. YS and its frontman’s low profile simply reinforced the notion that independence was about Salmond and the SNP. There ought to have been an alternative array of dedicated, articulate and, if possible, charismatic independence voices. No doubting the enthusiasm and the passion but up against the muscle of the power élite it all looked insubstantial. The sophistication of the relentless assault from all directions both national and international has emphasised that as a small nation we have a considerable amount to learn. We are engaged in a psychological war for the minds of our people with the weapons for that war beyond our control. The old rules of “combat” passed on from pre-computer literate generations do not work in a 24/7 media generated world. Although we have developed online media we still largely preach to the converted through it. The new Scotland begins with us. Next time, hopefully sometime very soon, we will not be such easy “meat”. The dour Scottish culture, easily stereotyped and satirised as irritably conceited, rather thin skinned and prone to myths of exceptionalism could do with a make-over too. After years of neglecting our country, we do really need to get real! This is no time for tearful self-pity.
Truly a sad day! It is disappointing that the “yes” vote did not prevail. But what is really disheartening is to realize that a majority of Scots have been so conditioned over the past 100 years to believe that they are not capable of taking responsibility for their own lives, families and futures.
This vote represents the fact that the majority of the Scots are truly a dependent society with a dependence mentality. They are willing to take whatever the English benevolence or lack of it dishes out to them.
“The welfare culture tells the man he is not a necessary part of the family; he feels dispensable, his wife knows he is dispensable, and his children sense it. The man loses his self respect and the respect of his family.” Is this truly what has happened to a vast number of Scots? Have they lost their self respect and confidence that they can be self-reliant and be responsible adults by taking control of their future without help or dependence on a government handout?
Unfortunately, the Scots are being mocked by the rest of the world and pitied for their evident dependency mentality on a English government.
Those Scots who voted “No”, no longer deserve to call themselves Scots but should instead embrace the Sassenach label.
Hate to say it, but this the first time I’m ashamed to admit to my Scottish heritage. My forefathers would be ashamed of and appalled by their ancestors today.