Thursday, September 18, 2014

Yes or no? What do I know?

I've been following the referendum in Scotland with interest.  Mainly because I do have aspirations of visiting eventually, and I want to know how the vote will affect that.  But less self-servingly, I'm interested in history, and Scotland is part of mine, and has it's own interesting history.

I don't really have an opinion on whether or not "Better Together" is right, but I can understand how a country can be upset at their representation in government when they are an actual separate country, but not have their own government or even equal representation.


England and Scotland have been doing this dance for essentially all of modern history.  Scotland really hasn't ever wanted to to be considered part of England.  And yet, they've been governed that way for centuries.

The thing that confuses me, is that in the world at large, Scotland is generally thought of as it's own country.  Which makes it similar, in principle, to Canada - ties to Britain, but independent.  Yes, Canada was a colony, but we never fought a war for independence like the US; we're technically still part of the Commonwealth.  But we have our own government, and our own economy.  So, why is that such a big deal for Scotland?  They've (almost) always been their own country, they were just unlucky enough to be in close proximity to England, which put them in firing range.  And yet, their government is England's government.  I say, huh?  How does that make sense?

I don't know, clearly, I don't have enough knowledge to have a valid opinion. I'd love to have a discussion with someone who actually knows details, but since the vote is today that's kind of a moot point now.  But I think I could learn a lot.

I hope that whatever happens, things go smoothly for Scotland as a nation, because there is likely potential for a huge mess, no matter which way the vote goes.

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