A Better Way
I try very hard to keep my writing non-political and only
focus on issues surrounding Celtic and Scottish football. Today, however, I’ll
make an exception and talk about the upcoming vote on Scottish independence.
This is undoubtedly the most important decision the people of Scotland have
ever had to make in their entire history. The ruling elite who voted Scotland’s
parliament out of existence in 1707 did so for mostly selfish reasons. Among
these was the failure of Scotland’s attempt to found a colony on the Darien isthmus
in what we today call Panama. The rich investors lost huge amounts of money and
when the English Government, who wished to see Scotland under its influence,
offered £400,000 in compensation to the Darien investors the glint of gold
influenced many. England also closed its markets to Scottish coal, cattle and
Linen in an act of virtual blackmail and the ruling Scottish elite bowed to the
pressure and began negotiations which would lead to the unification of the
parliaments. Few Scots saw this as anything other than a sell out and serious
rioting occurred in Edinburgh and Glasgow. Copies of the treaty were burned in
the streets, windows at the Scottish parliament were smashed and a mob
controlled Glasgow for a month. It was to no avail, the people Robert Burns
called ‘A parcel of rogues’ voted 110-67 to close the ancient Scottish
parliament down and it met for the last time on 25 March 1707.
All of that is a million miles away from the position Scots
find themselves in today. This hard working and inventive nation which has
given so much to the world in terms of industry, medicine, agriculture,
philosophy and the arts, finds itself wrestling with some of the highest levels
of social inequality in the developed world. Scotland is not a poor country. We
have a well-educated, hard working population and some of the greatest natural
resources in Europe and yet recent report found that male life expectancy in
poorer areas of Glasgow’s East end was just 54 while in affluent suburbs a ten
minute drive away it was 82. How have we allowed this situation to arise? The
simple answer is that the ruling elite of the modern age, with some noble exceptions,
continue to perpetuate a system of government and wealth distribution which
enriches the minority at the expense of the people. We currently have a cabinet
of millionaires telling us that we’re all in it together and preparing us for
more austerity. Meanwhile as the welfare budget is squeezed and the poorest in
our society are blamed for their own problems, the Bankers bonuses continue to
rise, despite the fact their greed almost destroyed the whole economic system. We,
the ordinary tax payers of these islands, paid a huge price for the actions of
a selfish minority and in their utter arrogance they had us pay to clean up
their mess. American political thinker Noam Chomsky reminds us that things aren’t
set in stone and that change is possible if we want it enough…
"There
is no reason to accept the doctrines crafted to sustain power and privilege, or
to believe that we are constrained by mysterious and unknown social laws. These
are simply decisions made within institutions that are subject to human will
and that must face the test of legitimacy. And if they do not meet the test,
they can be replaced by other institutions that are more free and more just."
Voting for Scottish independence won’t change the international
systems we have allowed the elite to create for themselves but it will be the
first step on the road to creating a fairer society which uses the wealth of
the nation to support and develop all of its people and not just the so called ‘elite.’
The world is weighed down by inequality and injustice and the Scotland I want
my children and grandchildren to inherit can be a beacon demonstrating that
there is an alternative to the rapacious and divisive capitalism which is
causing great harm to the natural world as well as to humanity in general. I’m
not suggesting for a moment that hard working people shouldn’t be rewarded for
their industry, of course they should, but that must always be balanced by what
is in the interest of the common good and of the planet.
The idea of a more just Scotland can never come about while
the London-centric elite dominate our national discourse. There was a time when
our political parties offered real choice before they were pressured into
becoming little more than a regulatory bodies for the big corporations and
their media empires. We are told that we
should spend £100b on upgrading our nuclear weapons capability while food-banks
proliferate in our poorer areas. We demonstrated against British involvement in
the Iraq war of 2003 in our millions and still our Prime Minister, a Labour
Prime Minister no less, followed a right wing reactionary like George Bush into
a brutal and bloody conflict which is largely responsible for the mess the region
is in today. Our opinions meant as little to the ruling ‘elite’ in 2003 as they
did to the ‘elite’ of 1707 who gave up our parliament and sovereignty for a
wagon full of gold.
I hear siren voices which say Scotland can’t cut it on its
own and that they would never vote for Alex Salmond. My reply to them is simply
this: Not voting for independence because you don’t like Alex Salmond is like
not buying your dream house because you don’t like the wallpaper. This isn’t
about party politics or personalities, this is about a nation standing up and
saying; we want the government we voted for and we want to create a fairer
society. Scotland is rich in natural resources and inventive, talented people
and that potential should be released and encouraged so that we all benefit
from it. An independence Scotland would hold elections and we would see the
political parties here, so long dancing to London’s tune, return to their roots
and develop Scottish policies for the Scottish people.
The trappings of the age of Empire and the class system it
supports are incompatible with a modern democratic state. The asset stripping
of Scotland’s wealth to enrich a minority is also incompatible with a stable
society. I’ll be voting Yes on September the 18th. Not because I’m
selfish or anti-English, how could I be with family and friends there? I long for Scotland to be an example to our
southern cousins and inspire them to seek a better society. My vote will be yes
because I want to say….
Yes to true democracy
Yes to a written constitution based on human rights and
dignity
Yes to a fairer society
Yes to Scotland being a force for good in the world
Yes to an end to the obscenity of nuclear weapons on our soil
Yes to a society which values all equally
Being Scottish is not linked to ‘blood and soil’ as one
foolish commentator stated. Nor is it about narrow nationalism. Rather it is about
accepting Scottish values such as fairness, democracy, tolerance and decency. It
matters not if your roots are in Poland or Pakistan, if they are in India or
Ireland. If you can subscribe to these values then you are welcome to help
build a new Scotland. A country we can all be proud of and which will be an
example to all of what a country can achieve when its potential is unleashed. This ancient nation should take its place
among the independent countries of the world and work for justice and peace the
world over instead of being dragged into imperialist wars which at the end of
the day are fought to make rich men richer. There is another way, a better way.
If we succeed on September the 18th we won't create a fair society over night but we will be preparing to make Scotland a better country for us all.
What do you say?
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