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Vote on Independence

Scotland Teeters on the Edge



On Thursday Scotland (including 16-17 year-olds) will go to the polls to vote on what amounts to full sovereign independence from the rest of the United Kingdom which would presumably, amongst more serious matters, necessitate a full re-design of the (rest of the) Union Jack flag.
A year ago it seemed as if an affirmative vote was far-fetched. Like other disgruntled provinces (Quebec springs to mind), there has always been a romantic sentiment that independence would solve every social ill, leading the people into the proverbial Promised Land. Some of the former Soviet and Yugoslav satellites had much more invested reasons for pushing forward. Ethnic cleansing is a real good reason to fight for independence, as are the presence of would be regional dictators like Saddam Hussein and Vladimir Putin. Scotland though is not Ukraine; it has never been a slave to England or the union as a whole. Throughout most of the 20th Century England, Scotland and Wales largely functioned as one unit and people saw themselves as British. But spurred on by Tony Blair’s devolution and exasperated by excessive immigration, nationalist fervency has grown and led us to the point where a Scottish breakaway is a very real possibility. Financial markets are clearly worried! What they dislike the most is instability and unpredictability both of which would be produced by a ‘Yes’ vote. Alex Salmond, leader of the Scottish Nationalist Party & the head of the Scottish Provincial Parliament maintains that the new nation will continue to use the British pound. But George Osborne, the British Chancellor (the #2 guy who is also charge of the money) said “No ifs, no buts, we will not share the pound if Scotland separates from the UK. [Voters] should be in no doubt about the consequences of this decision - one of which is that Scotland will not be sharing the pound as an independent country with the rest of the UK if the separatists win the vote."

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What Scotland hopes to achieve through this is quite unclear and that is the danger. Proponents frame up the ‘Yes’ vote as a solution to whatever bothers people leaving the ‘better together’ campaign with the more difficult task of opposing raw sentiment (that can be encapsulated in a sound bite) with a more reasoned and less emotive response. Salmond is guilty of taking a page out of the Jesse Jackson / Al Sharpton book. London rule has been successfully demonized and catapulted him into the position as leading spokesman for why full independence would change everything for the better. But once he is handed the ball to run with he will find it a very tricky course and his popularity and reputation will plummet. From a political perspective, Salmond wins if ‘better together’ scores a narrow victory because he can continue his vitriol without consequence. There is no doubt that the Scots can build their own country if they choose to do so. What it would look like in comparison to the current province remains to be seen but given the propensity towards liberalism of the majority it would likely be a socialist mess. England would prefer to keep them in the Union not out of a great love for their northern neighbour, but because having a needy independent Scotland right on the border would simply add to the social service demands in their own country. Scotland goes to the polls on Thursday, September 18th.


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David C. Jennings -- Bio and Archives

David Jennings is an ex-pat Brit. living in California.

A Christian Minister he advocates for Traditional & Conservative causes.

David is also an avid fan of Liverpool Football Club and writes for the supporters club in America

David Jennings can be found on Twitter
His blog can be read here


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