After the delay...
Yes, I'm back with the second half (first half) of my rant on the Scottish referendum. 1 week after it was due. But anyway, enough of that. -_- So once again;
This is my opinion and is to be taken fairly and not too seriously.
I promised we'd talk about other things. The UK's future for one. I've already said how talk recently has been of the UK Parliament is thinking of setting up an English Parliament, to go with the Scottish, Welsh and N.Irish one. This would be better to delegate powers. But would it cause other problems such as more politicians, which; if you're anyone but me, this may seem terrible.
But will the UK become more separate over time? Well, I hope not. It's been seen a great Union that has held together despite its problems. Scotland became an interesting vote because of the large amount of people that wanted to break away. 45% voted Yes after all. It is easy to forget however that we aren't the only Union. The United States has its, well... united states. I'm bringing up Texas because of its call, in the past that it has the right and wants to secede.
As this video
proves, its not as 2 sided as Scotland is. But the Texas issue does
have its similarities. In that there is a group that (badly) want
it to leave. Like Scotland it also use to be independent. It along with a
few other states fought for its succession in the civil war. But what right does it OR Scotland have?
Well, very little. Texas signed as being part of the constitution and thus is a state. There is no escaping that. Moreover; its only a few loud voices. In a petition signed after the 2012 General Election 64000 Texans wanted to break free. Representing 0.2% of the population.
In terms of democracy, Scotland had the best chance it will ever get to be seen as a respected independent people. But it didn't.
I think this gives us a good understanding of many world situations we are currently dealing with. Many of you will often see news reports of peoples fighting for independence, often being torn apart by war. Often we see the bad or the good guys (depending on who our nation supports). There is room for very little grey in this world. While an Enemy of our enemy is NOT always our friend. While I accept there are some exceptions. Surely it is better to remain as a larger unit than a small independent state.
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| British Empire |
The British Empire was synonymous for this. And while many will argue that it fuelled slavery, surely it fuelled great economic strides forward, creating the globalised and connected world we have today. It may be seen as cruel to control the natives lives and language. But surely, all of our lives are now better, because of the connection we all have and the language we speak as one.
As an Englishman, I do feel that Scotland is right to stay within the Union. As an Englishman, I think the idea of a large connected world is great, but as an economist I think Scotland will not regret its decision to be secure, not only inside the UK, but the EU and NATO.
- Well, once again, that dragged on
- People aren't going to read all of that, you know.
- I know
- Then why do it?
- Its nice to vent my thoughts
You never appreciate what you have until its gone.
-|CJ|-
Here we Go
Yes, with my stupid interest in politics and a large event having recently happened; I think we all knew this would happen. But of course as an Englishman I am clearly the least biased person to talk about this stuff [Obvious Sarcasm]. So, if you're still reading by this point, here we go, -_- Scottish referendum rant. But before we start lets make this clear;
This is my opinion and is to be taken fairly and not too seriously.
So yes, Scotland voted No, asking to stay by part of the Union. This despite a large campaign from Salmon and the Yes Campaign. But one of many issues this brought up was one of Nationalism and its representation within a country. It is wrong to say that a No vote would mean you're anti-nationalist, however those that do strongly believe in their countries ability will and did fight for "their freedom"
- Please don't do Braveheart references
- Why not
- You might get hate
- Its a political post, I'm getting hate no matter what I say.
But the point remains even in areas such as Glasgow, where the Yes vote seemed dominant, they won but only by 53 to 47%. Which shows that many are deeply divided, but more it shows a Yes vote was far more popular in the city than in the country. The two most populated areas were Yes votes however; unlike in England, most of their population is not located in Urban areas. To add, the most one sided county was the Borders (66 to 33). This was noticeable because this is a Conservative held area.
Top Photo Source Right Photo Source
Another big thing this election did was give young people the vote. This seemed to be Scotland allowing its future to be decided by those who would live in it. But despite the young being known for their liberalism, a Yes was not possible. So, is this a case of the Young changing sides or not voting. The high turnout and the high density of young in the cities looked promising for the SNP, yet despite this, nothing came of it. What it seems like to me is that the young and most impressionable did the most logical thing with their new powers and weighed up both sides, rather than letting pier pressure decide. Because; isn't it logical to play carefully with your new toy as you don't want to ruin them.
So, what does this mean to me? Looking at it, it shows the inherent Conservatism of the nation. While many would shout at me for that, well, look at the figures. Scotland, like much of the UK seems to be embracing Conservatism. To me this shows that when put in a large life changing situation, most people like it to stay how it is. Why, for the security that they know they are safe as things stand. This, surely shows a trend for things to stay the same, shouldn't it?
The biggest topic now that this is over is one of giving England more powers. While this may seem anti-productive, Scotland (as well as Wales and N.I.) have national assemblies. While England does not have one and instead must have rules dictated to it from the UK government. This results in politicians from Scotland, Wales and N.I. deciding rules for England but not the other way around. Many however argue that this just creates more polititions and more paperwork. Now, this may seem small and pretentious but is a big deal. More Scottish powers was one of the major points of the election. But power leads me on to two points
But, this has gone on long enough so I'll be discussing; Texas' Succession and Empire, as well as my take on the UK's future, in the next part of my rant. So, I'll end this with a meme of the "Unions greatest saviour" Flash Gordon (Brown) - Source
Fight for what is best, not for whats done by the rest
-|CJ|-
Back to Reality
Back to life in the Sixth Form, meaning my social life has been reactivated. So what does that mean. More stories, everyone cheer!! [Silence from audience] But seriously, right now I just sitting here listening to songs. To anyone that cared, my Intense blogging month of August got me more views that month than in all, but my first month of blogging. As for now, I'll probably calm it down. School has started now, so less blogging more jogging.
- That pun was terrible
- I know, the stress is getting to me
- It's been a week and you're stressed, hahaha, weakling.
- Shh. No-one must know how pathetic I am.
Yes, yes. I get it, you've all got it worse than me, to be honest you probably do, its not like I have a bad life. Like any respectable school, we were given summer work, its mostly completed .... mostly -_- Yes, you can shout at me. But, I've been let off the hook for now. To add, I have a new subject tomorrow. To all those who don't know, I did not achieve a high enough grade to continue in Economics. Meaning all of you will now look at my economic arguments and be like; pfft, he doesn't know what he's talking about. Please don't.
But seriously, I've now got Chemistry to worry about. Don't worry though, I'm positive. I wasn't left with a lot of choice however. So, new experience, new subjects same life, but now less friends. Don't worry I didn't make any enemies, they're just no longer with us at school, and I wish them luck in their future endeavours.
It's always brighter on the Horizon
-|CJ|-
