Well, being American, I've got no business weighing in on European politics, but I do have a few random thoughts that are probably worth less than I paid for them.
First, it appears to my untrained eye that all of the parties opposing Brexit are left-wing parties. They have descriptions like "social-democrat" and "democratic socialist", both of which mean exactly the same thing to my mind. If it's the case that only the left wing is opposing Brexit, then that tells me all I need to know about it.
On the subject of Scottish Independence, I can certainly see why the Scots are a wee bit pissed off at Westminster. I can see that, actually, going back several hundred years. As Gordi says, they seem to need Westminster's approval to separate, but if you gotta ask permission to be free, how free are you really gonna be?
As an aside, there is a running joke around here that I am the boss of my house... because Grace said I could be! Think about that just a couple of minutes, then read on.
Once upon a time in America, we too found that England thought we needed permission to separate from them, and that got just a little ugly before it was all said and done. Is Scotland prepared for that sort of ugliness... AGAIN?
As Wallfire said, the aftermath was nearly as ugly. The next 10 or 20 years was pretty nasty at times, until we got the pecking order settled here. Hell, even George Washington sent his troops to draw blood from some unruly upstarts out on the frontier who somehow got into their heads the notion that when the words "freedom" and "liberty" had been applied to them, it meant they were free men. They (and we) weren't free at all, something that Washington pounded into our heads with no small amount of force. What those words REALLY meant was that we had just traded one Master for another, the former being far away and negligibly irritating, the latter being right on our doorsteps, and thoroughly troublesome and vexing. In hindsight, I'm not entirely sure it was a fair trade, or worth the blood spilled. See "The Whiskey Rebellion" in history books.
So is Scotland prepared to trade a UK Master for an EU Master? It sounds like they are, but take it from me, that's not all it's cracked up to be. A Master is a Master, no matter what language it speaks. How will Scotland fare when the Tax Man from the EU uses their resources to bolster French or German roadways and water supplies? How will that make Scotland better off?
I reckon that's a question that only the Scots can answer.
Speaking of resources, I saw mention of North sea oil - quite a valuable lot of it, I understand. Do the Scots really think that the UK is just going to let that go, gratis? Do they really think that the EU isn't going to seize control of it (whether de facto or de jure matters little)? After all, they're building their army and police forces for SOMETHING... one might ask an old whiskey maker on the frontier just what he thinks that "something" might be, but being dead he'd be unable to answer, I suppose.
All in all, we, you and I, live in interesting times. Exchanging your alliance with a copperhead for an alliance with a rattlesnake doesn't seem, to me, to be much change. If you're going to declare independence, do it like you mean it, and tell 'em both to feck off, and let the troops fall where they may! Scotland is not "independent" when they are still subjects of the EU. That would just be a fairy tale to tell the children so that they could sleep better at night, and grow up big and strong to be proper slaves to foreign masters.
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First, it appears to my untrained eye that all of the parties opposing Brexit are left-wing parties. They have descriptions like "social-democrat" and "democratic socialist", both of which mean exactly the same thing to my mind. If it's the case that only the left wing is opposing Brexit, then that tells me all I need to know about it.
On the subject of Scottish Independence, I can certainly see why the Scots are a wee bit pissed off at Westminster. I can see that, actually, going back several hundred years. As Gordi says, they seem to need Westminster's approval to separate, but if you gotta ask permission to be free, how free are you really gonna be?
As an aside, there is a running joke around here that I am the boss of my house... because Grace said I could be! Think about that just a couple of minutes, then read on.
Once upon a time in America, we too found that England thought we needed permission to separate from them, and that got just a little ugly before it was all said and done. Is Scotland prepared for that sort of ugliness... AGAIN?
As Wallfire said, the aftermath was nearly as ugly. The next 10 or 20 years was pretty nasty at times, until we got the pecking order settled here. Hell, even George Washington sent his troops to draw blood from some unruly upstarts out on the frontier who somehow got into their heads the notion that when the words "freedom" and "liberty" had been applied to them, it meant they were free men. They (and we) weren't free at all, something that Washington pounded into our heads with no small amount of force. What those words REALLY meant was that we had just traded one Master for another, the former being far away and negligibly irritating, the latter being right on our doorsteps, and thoroughly troublesome and vexing. In hindsight, I'm not entirely sure it was a fair trade, or worth the blood spilled. See "The Whiskey Rebellion" in history books.
So is Scotland prepared to trade a UK Master for an EU Master? It sounds like they are, but take it from me, that's not all it's cracked up to be. A Master is a Master, no matter what language it speaks. How will Scotland fare when the Tax Man from the EU uses their resources to bolster French or German roadways and water supplies? How will that make Scotland better off?
I reckon that's a question that only the Scots can answer.
Speaking of resources, I saw mention of North sea oil - quite a valuable lot of it, I understand. Do the Scots really think that the UK is just going to let that go, gratis? Do they really think that the EU isn't going to seize control of it (whether de facto or de jure matters little)? After all, they're building their army and police forces for SOMETHING... one might ask an old whiskey maker on the frontier just what he thinks that "something" might be, but being dead he'd be unable to answer, I suppose.
All in all, we, you and I, live in interesting times. Exchanging your alliance with a copperhead for an alliance with a rattlesnake doesn't seem, to me, to be much change. If you're going to declare independence, do it like you mean it, and tell 'em both to feck off, and let the troops fall where they may! Scotland is not "independent" when they are still subjects of the EU. That would just be a fairy tale to tell the children so that they could sleep better at night, and grow up big and strong to be proper slaves to foreign masters.
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Diogenes was eating bread and lentils for supper. He was seen by the philosopher Aristippus, who lived comfortably by flattering the king.
Said Aristippus, ‘If you would learn to be subservient to the king you would not have to live on lentils.’ Said Diogenes, ‘Learn to live on lentils and you will not have to be subservient to the king.’
Said Aristippus, ‘If you would learn to be subservient to the king you would not have to live on lentils.’ Said Diogenes, ‘Learn to live on lentils and you will not have to be subservient to the king.’