The Eclipse Of Scottish Nationalism. We don’t need to tell everyone we’re Scottish, we know that.
What we have to talk about now is the kind of place we want to live in.Elaine C Smith, Calton Hill Saturday 21st SeptemberEven those of us sympathetic to Scotland’s right to rule itself are repelled by the chauvinistic yes campaignThe Observer, Sunday 22nd September…in a speech peppered with references to Mr Salmond, Ms Lamont delivered the most virulent attack on the “politics of nationalism”.
Although she did not name any particular examples, such as Nazi Germany, she described it as a “virus that has affected so many nations and done so much harm”.Johann Lamont: Referendum a chance to dispel ‘virus’ of nationalism, Daily Telegraph 22 September There are two schools of thought on what it means to be Scottish today. Why Scottish Culture CAN’T & SHOULD NOT Be Separate From The Independence Push. This is a response to Sara McCorquodale’s recent blog titled ‘Why Scottish Culture Must Be Kept Separate From The Independence Push’.
Dear Sara, I read your HuffPost article and would like to respond. As you will already be gathering from the response to your article in the comments and on Twitter, there are several people who are insulted by some of the things you have said, while others vehemently disagree. Overnight, it also appears that the people who have sympathies with your article are trying to silence the critics by accusing them of being a mythical creature, native to Scotland, called the “Cybernat”. This phrase is a loaded one, and is used by people engaging in the “grudge politics” you appear as keen as I am to avoid.
You have responded to many of your critics with “It’s my personal opinion.” The general tone of your article is one of fear. Your article starts by saying: Better Together: Conformity In The UK. Greg Moodie and Rose Garnett@gregmoodie and @dead_centralNational Collective.
To The Undecided: Should Scotland Become An Independent Country? Raymond Soltysek: Independence Is The Triumph of Hope Over Fear. A few months ago, I was talking to my godson, Andrew, about the forthcoming referendum.
He’s a lovely lad; in his thirties, he works in the care of adults with severe learning disabilities. He and his partner, a nurse, have the most beautiful two year old daughter, a smiley, happy, sweet child who charms everyone she meets. They both work punishing shifts for not much more than a combined living wage: Andrew frequently has to walk four miles to catch a bus that’ll take him to work. He was going to vote No. Astonished, I asked him why. We live in a society that is crippled by fear. #500questions. It was the ingenious idea of Better Together – to publish a list of 500 questions and uncertainties that needed answered by Yes Scotland.
What could possibly go wrong? Margaret Curran In Space. Greg Moodie@gregmoodie National Collective.
An Open Letter To Johann Lamont. Dear Johann, I’m glad you have seen today as an opportunity to positively engage with the independence debate.
The countdown to September 18th 2014 appears to have sparked you into life. Having watched you on television this evening I found myself agreeing with you. I too envisage my children and grandchildren living in a “foreign” country. Scottish Independence: Top 10 Unionist Myths – DEBUNKED. Alan Bissett: Independent Scotland Will No Longer Be Able To Call Things “Things”
The Better Together campaign has launched its strongest defence of the Union yet, warning that an independent Scotland will no longer be allowed to call things ‘things’.
Speaking on the BBC’s Newsnight programme, Better Together’s Alistair Darling argued, ‘Alex Salmond is pursuing a separatist agenda into the unknown, which means Scots don’t have a clue what’s going to happen about defence, our status in the EU, or even what things are going to be called.’ Pressed by Gordon Brewer on this last point, Darling gestured towards the table in front of them. ‘Well look, three hundred years of shared history in the Union means that everyone, from Lands End to John O’Groats, can agree that this is called a table.
Eddi Reader: Here’s To A New ‘Union’ Between Two New Independent Countries. I enjoyed our ‘union’ I loved the solidarity… before the last election I was visiting a few friends and doing promo for a tour.I noticed people being angry at Labour, I noticed that those who I admired as left-wing were so hateful of Gordon Brown.
There was disappointment. English friends and people who marched and demonstrated in Thatcher’s reign using words like ‘the Scottish mafia’…I tried to buy a left wing paper in Rye, my friends’ seaside town. All they had for sale in the shop at 10am was the Telegraph, Daily Mail and the Sun.I did a workshop with my friend and one trainee songwriter complained/joked about Scotland taking over his parliament. A few voices agreed.A 30-40yr old rolly smoking woman cleaner from Hastings who wore rasta dreads and nose earrings said to me, “No one will vote for Labour now… immigrants everywhere. Scotland’s Future: What Happens After A No Vote. Page 1 Page 2.
What Would You Miss About Westminster? According to The Herald, Better Together plan to ‘step up debate in 2013’ by asking Scots what they would miss about Britain should Scotland vote for independence.
Aside from the matter of Anas Sarwar showing us what their idea of stepping up debate looks like, who said anything about leaving Britain? Mythbuster: Yes Scotland & The SNP Are Not The Same Thing. [box bg="#eeeeee" color-"#666666"]The debate is being, and will continue to be, muddied and distorted by countless myths floating around about the economy, the case for independence, the nature of the Yes campaign and modern Scottish, UK and European politics in general.
In this section we hope to be a very Scottish Scooby Doo, unmasking the ghouls and bogeymen of #IndyRef one myth at a time. If you want to contribute, we ask that you use the most reliable evidence, the least partisan sources and the simplest language you can to make your point. Westminster World. Poem: Pride of Lions. Pride of Lions and the newspaper said, ‘We are proud to be Scottish, but we must ask the difficult questions.’ and the Laird said, ‘This family’s proud to be Scottish, but but what about our right of succession?’
Timeline to Independence. The campaign for Scotland’s independence is being muddied and distorted by a chaotic media narrative. The Scottish people deserve a debate that is clear, clean and comprehensive. To See Ourselves As Others See Us #1. The first in a National Collective series looking at support for independence amongst New Scots and those from migrant backgrounds. Callum Cyrus was born in Wolverhampton and lived in Scotland for some time as a child and from 2008: “I will be voting YES in 2014 because I believe in a strong and equal partnership between the two countries I have lived in throughout my life; Scotland and England. As a third-generation Jamaican immigrant, I understand the empowering impact of self-determination in defining a nation.
“I believe that the importance of nationhood in the 21st century transcends the usefulness of an antiquated union. The lack of economic levers held in Scotland prevents us achieving the full ambitions we have for our nation. Not for Riches. The ancient Greeks were the first to invent democracy. But too often we forget the extraordinarily early declaration of the people’s sovereignty that occurred right here in Scotland almost 700 years ago. Too often we forget that more recent international declarations of independence and democracy have been based on and influenced by our own Declaration of Arbroath.
The Declaration is revolutionary for its time because it affirms that the people of Scotland are sovereign. Not the king, not the parliament, but the people. Today, Scotland’s sovereignty is reserved to the Westminster parliament, which is sovereign by appointment of Her Majesty the Queen, who is appointed monarch by God. The most famous line from the Declaration of Arbroath reads: “It is in truth not for glory, nor riches, nor honours that we are fighting, but for freedom – for that alone, which no honest man gives up but with life itself.” Andrew BarrNational Collective. Better Together – Except for Viewers in Scotland.
A personal introduction from Alistair Darling This is your leader speaking. Editorial: This pluralist Yes campaign is a new kind of politics. The No campaign’s Olympic bubble has already burst. If you had just spent £24 billion on a propaganda campaign that didn’t work, you’d be pretty upset. Here’s A Health To The Company. Editorial: And Now For Something Completely Different. This weekend saw Better Together out in whatever force they could muster. A show of strength, perhaps, to remind an increasingly active and confident Yes campaign who’s boss.