I thought I would start a thread on this very emotive subject just to see what views the esteemed forum members on here hold.
My penny's worth for what it's worth
I hope that the people of Scotland will vote to remain part of the UK, the reasons I feel this are less to do with any economic viewpoint but more about really disliking nationalism. Whilst the Scottish independence campaign would play down any nationalist sentiment I feel they are nationalist through and through and that it was the motivating force behind the push for independence. I feel in this age we need try to dissolve the barriers that create an 'us' and 'them' wherever they are found as it is this fundamental division that crates the environment for persecution and separation. The idea that anyone fundamentally believes themselves a nationality is hard to fathom, that anyone is fundamentally English or Scottish, French or German is absurd as they are simply human beings. It is the same with religion in that no one can be anything other than a human being, of course it's possible to identify oneself as being a Jew or a Hindu etc etc but of course it's not what we are, it's just an ideology that we follow, often unchosen, but rather inherited, but it's just an idea. Now I have no problem with people using different ideas, belief systems, imagery, terminology and narratives to try and understand the most fundamental mysteries of our existence and self awareness but surely we don't want to imagine the ideas as what we actually are, and to bring it back to Scotland I have no issue with terms that identify geographical region and geographical history, but given the choice I would choose to bring us closer rather than further apart in the 21st centaury.
A few other general points
I would imagine the economics would make little difference to either side in the foreseeable future and it may take 10 - 20 years before any noticeable difference were able to be measured. I feel Alex Salmond needs to address the currency thing as to simply say that the RUK are bluffing is not good enough. I also feel Nicola Sturgeon is way out of her depth in that she has been made over and coached to within an inch of her life, but I remember listening to her before this and she seemed woefully short of a vice president of a nation state of sorts. I also feel that the nuclear scrapping issue is opportunistic in that they say this and would indeed spend very little on defence in the full knowledge that the RUK would have to keep it secure in order to maintain it's own security. I ultimately feel that there is a fair amount of devolved power already in Scotland which is used to make education and health care far more available than in the RUK.
I actually feel that the Scottish people will vote No by a very small margin and that it will be the best result for them as they will gain even more devolved power through the closeness of the vote frightening the Ruk, and Scotland may end up a pampered region of sorts simply because The RUK realise through that they cannot really afford to let the UK be broken up if hoping to retain it's already diminishing position in the world.
The potential problem for Scotland is that the stirring up of nationalistic sentiment may create a divided Scotland, something that may be to the detriment of communities and the general harmony.
I don't feel it's possible on the figures to realistically say that Scotland do not do ok as part of the Union nor that they could not function just as well alone, I feel there would be little in it and they would not collapse nor turn into this utopia that is suggested if only freed from the shackles of Westminster. As I feel there is so little in it I feel it comes down to some people who feel identified with being Scottish and simply want to assert themselves and write themselves into history.
What are your views?
As an aside however calling the referendum so soon after the commonwealth games was always going to give the yes vote a boost and cold actually be the 3 or 4 % difference that ends up being enough to cause a surprise.
My penny's worth for what it's worth
I hope that the people of Scotland will vote to remain part of the UK, the reasons I feel this are less to do with any economic viewpoint but more about really disliking nationalism. Whilst the Scottish independence campaign would play down any nationalist sentiment I feel they are nationalist through and through and that it was the motivating force behind the push for independence. I feel in this age we need try to dissolve the barriers that create an 'us' and 'them' wherever they are found as it is this fundamental division that crates the environment for persecution and separation. The idea that anyone fundamentally believes themselves a nationality is hard to fathom, that anyone is fundamentally English or Scottish, French or German is absurd as they are simply human beings. It is the same with religion in that no one can be anything other than a human being, of course it's possible to identify oneself as being a Jew or a Hindu etc etc but of course it's not what we are, it's just an ideology that we follow, often unchosen, but rather inherited, but it's just an idea. Now I have no problem with people using different ideas, belief systems, imagery, terminology and narratives to try and understand the most fundamental mysteries of our existence and self awareness but surely we don't want to imagine the ideas as what we actually are, and to bring it back to Scotland I have no issue with terms that identify geographical region and geographical history, but given the choice I would choose to bring us closer rather than further apart in the 21st centaury.
A few other general points
I would imagine the economics would make little difference to either side in the foreseeable future and it may take 10 - 20 years before any noticeable difference were able to be measured. I feel Alex Salmond needs to address the currency thing as to simply say that the RUK are bluffing is not good enough. I also feel Nicola Sturgeon is way out of her depth in that she has been made over and coached to within an inch of her life, but I remember listening to her before this and she seemed woefully short of a vice president of a nation state of sorts. I also feel that the nuclear scrapping issue is opportunistic in that they say this and would indeed spend very little on defence in the full knowledge that the RUK would have to keep it secure in order to maintain it's own security. I ultimately feel that there is a fair amount of devolved power already in Scotland which is used to make education and health care far more available than in the RUK.
I actually feel that the Scottish people will vote No by a very small margin and that it will be the best result for them as they will gain even more devolved power through the closeness of the vote frightening the Ruk, and Scotland may end up a pampered region of sorts simply because The RUK realise through that they cannot really afford to let the UK be broken up if hoping to retain it's already diminishing position in the world.
The potential problem for Scotland is that the stirring up of nationalistic sentiment may create a divided Scotland, something that may be to the detriment of communities and the general harmony.
I don't feel it's possible on the figures to realistically say that Scotland do not do ok as part of the Union nor that they could not function just as well alone, I feel there would be little in it and they would not collapse nor turn into this utopia that is suggested if only freed from the shackles of Westminster. As I feel there is so little in it I feel it comes down to some people who feel identified with being Scottish and simply want to assert themselves and write themselves into history.
What are your views?
As an aside however calling the referendum so soon after the commonwealth games was always going to give the yes vote a boost and cold actually be the 3 or 4 % difference that ends up being enough to cause a surprise.
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