Scotland the Brave Votes No - or Was It Yes?
Scotland's voters rejected independence for their nation last week: "No" to independence; "Yes to remaining in the UK. The margin was 55% to 45%, so the vote wasn't as close as many pundits predicted. What can we learn from this?
First, polls aren't always accurate. The polls in this case began with a resounding "Yes" to the UK, then dramatically switched to "No" to the UK, causing all sorts of media drama about secession not only of Scotland from the UK, but Catalonia from Spain, Venice from Italy and even Quebec from Canada. (Yes, that one's back again.) With that switch the "big guns" came out, including not only British PM David Cameron, but all sorts of captains of British business, most vociferously the financiers from the City of London (the UK's Wall Street), who painted a dire future for Scotland if they separated. All of that pushed the polls in the other direction, and even though the last minute polls were mixed, the results weren't really all that close. So, if you haven't figured this out yet, you need to look at polls with a high degree of skepticism. Unless you're a real political junkie (and I'm not), you may do yourself a favor by just ignoring most polls, focus you attention on elections that concern you personally, figure out a) if you want to vote, b) how you'll vote and get on with your life, which I hope means engaging in far more interesting and productive activities than following polls.
Second, the "separatist" movement, highly trumped up in the lead-up to the Scottish vote, while a real phenomenon, may have been exaggerated as to its popularity in those other areas of the world mentioned above. My own view here is that such separatist votes in the end come down to the voter figuring out how separation will affect him or her and then voting for what appears to suit their personal interest or benefit, rather than voting based on any real political or philosophical conviction. I say this because one of the issue brought up during the Scottish campaign was "national health care." Apparently a significant number of Scots thought that a vote for independence would either take away or lessen their current level of national health care. Now, from personal knowledge derived from acquaintances who've dealt with the Scottish system - and these weren't rich folks - my sense has been that they think the system works and that it's good for them, despite my own reaction that the controls and waiting time to get needed procedures and surgeries would drive most American crazy. Although, as Obamacare continues to roll out, the national health care experience I was exposed to in Scotland may lie in our future. we'll just have to wait and see.
Third, Scotland has evolved into a thoroughly socialist state. We may have witnessed just how the installation of the socialist system and mindset can be used by those in power to manipulate the emotions, and therefore the votes, of people who are used to relying on the state for most of their everyday needs and well-being. As fewer rely on their own initiative, their own hard work, their own prudent saving and investment, and more are fed off the teat of the socialist state, control passes to the masters, the oligarchs, the elites, whatever you want to call them. Socialism strengthens the politically and financially strong and emasculates the masses, leaving the overlords with more power, which they freely wield with carrot and stick. If that sound like an appealing future to you, you're either one of the elites, one of the emasculated, or just stupid. Either that, or you're some combination of the preceding who prefers his or her NFL football and other forms of electronic entertainment in between eating, drinking and perhaps ingesting any number of pharmaceuticals designed to keep you calm and contented to actually living your life in real time, in a real world, engaged with real people.
As for the Scots' vote, I'm no Scot, I don't live there, and what I think doesn't really matter. The Scots made their choice; they'll live with it. With that, let's take a quick look and listen to that great speech in "Braveheart" when William Wallace inspires the Scotsmen of old - a race apparently long gone.
First, polls aren't always accurate. The polls in this case began with a resounding "Yes" to the UK, then dramatically switched to "No" to the UK, causing all sorts of media drama about secession not only of Scotland from the UK, but Catalonia from Spain, Venice from Italy and even Quebec from Canada. (Yes, that one's back again.) With that switch the "big guns" came out, including not only British PM David Cameron, but all sorts of captains of British business, most vociferously the financiers from the City of London (the UK's Wall Street), who painted a dire future for Scotland if they separated. All of that pushed the polls in the other direction, and even though the last minute polls were mixed, the results weren't really all that close. So, if you haven't figured this out yet, you need to look at polls with a high degree of skepticism. Unless you're a real political junkie (and I'm not), you may do yourself a favor by just ignoring most polls, focus you attention on elections that concern you personally, figure out a) if you want to vote, b) how you'll vote and get on with your life, which I hope means engaging in far more interesting and productive activities than following polls.
Second, the "separatist" movement, highly trumped up in the lead-up to the Scottish vote, while a real phenomenon, may have been exaggerated as to its popularity in those other areas of the world mentioned above. My own view here is that such separatist votes in the end come down to the voter figuring out how separation will affect him or her and then voting for what appears to suit their personal interest or benefit, rather than voting based on any real political or philosophical conviction. I say this because one of the issue brought up during the Scottish campaign was "national health care." Apparently a significant number of Scots thought that a vote for independence would either take away or lessen their current level of national health care. Now, from personal knowledge derived from acquaintances who've dealt with the Scottish system - and these weren't rich folks - my sense has been that they think the system works and that it's good for them, despite my own reaction that the controls and waiting time to get needed procedures and surgeries would drive most American crazy. Although, as Obamacare continues to roll out, the national health care experience I was exposed to in Scotland may lie in our future. we'll just have to wait and see.
Third, Scotland has evolved into a thoroughly socialist state. We may have witnessed just how the installation of the socialist system and mindset can be used by those in power to manipulate the emotions, and therefore the votes, of people who are used to relying on the state for most of their everyday needs and well-being. As fewer rely on their own initiative, their own hard work, their own prudent saving and investment, and more are fed off the teat of the socialist state, control passes to the masters, the oligarchs, the elites, whatever you want to call them. Socialism strengthens the politically and financially strong and emasculates the masses, leaving the overlords with more power, which they freely wield with carrot and stick. If that sound like an appealing future to you, you're either one of the elites, one of the emasculated, or just stupid. Either that, or you're some combination of the preceding who prefers his or her NFL football and other forms of electronic entertainment in between eating, drinking and perhaps ingesting any number of pharmaceuticals designed to keep you calm and contented to actually living your life in real time, in a real world, engaged with real people.
As for the Scots' vote, I'm no Scot, I don't live there, and what I think doesn't really matter. The Scots made their choice; they'll live with it. With that, let's take a quick look and listen to that great speech in "Braveheart" when William Wallace inspires the Scotsmen of old - a race apparently long gone.
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