Has Materialism Killed Society?

This blog entry isn't my inner pensioner talking, but my genuine, real-life nineteen year old self.

Just the other day, I was speaking to one of my university friends and we were discussing the new iPhone 6. I asked her "What's the difference between a 5 and a 6?"

She replied "Not much. A better processor and it's bigger".

I was baffled by the cost and after reading up about it, it seemed a little crazy to spend so much money for essentially a better processor, bigger screen, thinner phone, more memory and a slightly-improved battery life.

Confused, I asked "How can you justify paying that much for a slightly improved iPhone 5s?". Her reply?

"To say you've got an iPhone 6."

I was slightly saddened by her reply, but I do not blame her. It is so easy nowadays to care about your reputation and your possessions. I myself gave into materialism last year and bought an iPhone 4s as I felt my peers were moving with the times as I sat content with a phone that could only run one app at a time. It's not just about your phone though.

We live in a world where judgement surrounds us. Think about it. Hollister went through a stage where boys would be buying clothes out there because "the girls love a boy in Hollister gear". I also fell into this trap as a young boy thinking that I would somehow look better in a t-shirt modelled by male models and that girls would fall at my feet. Hilarious when you think back. But yet again, this is another example of peer pressure and materialism crushing what is society.

I'm sure a few people have heard horror stories of a poor family not having a penny to their name after the Christmas period and having to use food banks. Who's fault is that? To be fair, it is partially the fault of the poor family - they could have easily cut back the gifts for a year - but it is also the fault of society. How would you like to break the news to your young children that they can't have the new PS4 because they are poor? How would you like to tell your children that they are not normal and can't fit in at school because they don't have the latest trend? You can't. It's horrible.

A guy I was in school with was shy in primary school and his dad wanted him to make friends. So instead of letting the child be himself, he spoiled him and kept him up with technology to make sure that he fitted in at something - even if it was only having an Xbox 360 or the new Call of Duty game. It just shows how much materialism has taken over our lives.

So, what has caused this materialism? As much as I hate to say it, it is capitalism. The rich companies hypnotise you into thinking "this brand will make your life easy", "this top will make you the next Beyonce" or "all of the cool kids wear these jeans, you don't want to be left out do you?"

When you wake up on Christmas Day to open a present that you really wish you didn't get, materialism has caused that. The rich get richer with everyone needing fairly useless things like iPhones, whilst the normal people buy them to seem trendy or to not look too different.

My advice? Buy something if you think that it will be useful enough to warrant the price. Be yourself and save your money as much as you can so that you have money for your bucket list and you aren't left regretting decisions later on in life. Oh and if you haven't already, create a bucket list.

Independence Referendum: My Vote

As I begin to write this blog post, I have made my mind up. In fact, I made a decision last night as I blocked the propaganda coming from both campaigns and it wasn't an easy one.

For those of you who know me, I've been a proud Scot and Brit and have supported the union despite its flaws over the past couple of years, but in the last couple of weeks I have flip-flopped between yes and no. Here's the reasons why.

The Yes campaign have in most people's views, been the campaign with the momentum leading up to today. They have had an all-round better campaign but they have failed to answer what will happen in an independent Scotland exactly. If we vote yes, we are going into the unknown. It's scary. That's why a no vote sounds more ideal because it is a little more secure.

However in saying that, the Better Together campaign have patronised to the masses and made a bit of a mess for no voters. They may well be right on some areas, but they have failed to really reach the young people and the working class as they have been too middle-class orientated. I do believe that being part of the UK is in some ways undemocratic and we don't always get what we want, but I don't believe in the yes campaign's dystopian view of a no vote.

They scare you as much as the no campaign do. There will be a Tory/UKIP coalition apparently. They will scrap our free university (even though we have complete control over that) apparently. They will privatise our NHS (we control that as well) apparently. This sort of scare tactics has well put me off the yes campaign, but in the end my love for change and my socialist nature has just about made me over-come the negatives in the campaign.

I'm voting yes after two years of voting no.

In fact as I write this sentence I have just came back from the polling station. I think that the yes campaign have tried to fit everyone and it has worked to an extent. I just believe that Scotland is more left-wing than the rest of the UK and that makes it a very obvious reason to vote yes. However, do I expect this inequality gap to close significantly? No. When yes voters talk about leaving the UK to get rid of millionaires and greed, they do not realise that that also occurs on their front door step. When they talk about getting rid of the tories, they forget that if we do become a prosperous nation, greed will go hand in hand with that and a right-wing party will become popular. When they talk about poverty and helping us, they forget about the millions of others left behind from our neighbouring countries who are just as worse off as us. It is incredibly sad that yes voters believe that Scotland is worse off than all because that is not at all true. But in saying that, I feel we could do better with a more people-powered government. Also, a big point for me is that I believe in peace and a world without nuclear weapons, something that is possible in an independent Scotland.

I will always call myself British and will always be proud of my English roots, but I think it is time to leave the union. I love Britain and that will never change. I will always look out for my English, Welsh and Irish neighbours in times of trouble and give my support. I just hope that they will give us support too.

Whether it is a yes or no tomorrow, I hope that our country can unite as one and accept the result. We have a lot to lose, but at the same time we have a lot to gain. Vote how you feel is right by all means, but my vote is a yes.

Independence Referendum: Five Things to Love About Scotland and Five Things to Love About Britain

Whether we go independent or not on Friday, the majority of us will see what we love in Scotland and what we love in Britain. I've compiled a list of five things that I love about Scotland and five things I love about Britain.

Scotland

1. Irn-Bru

Goes hand in hand with a bacon sanny

The drink of a nation. The taste that you can't describe but you love. I was on holiday in Zante for a week last year and I drunk it more than I would in a couple of months back home. I think this is because Irn-Bru is such an important part of our national identity that we sometimes need it when we are abroad! And it cures hangovers. 

2. The Patter

Scottish people are just brilliant at comebacks, chants and talking shite. I went to T in the Park and Leeds Festival this year. Leeds was better, but it lacked the sort of patter that you heard first thing on a Sunday morning when you got out your tent. From the slightly cheesy "here wi fuckin go" to the 12 year old brilliance of "yir maw", we have some of the best patter in the world.

3. Scots 

Both in the meaning of the language and the people. We seem to be generally nice and a good laugh. We can be a bit dour, but that is our charm. Plus, the Scots language has been something of national pride. If you're Scottish and you've never started tae type like yir fae Scotland, yir missing oot.

4. The Commonwealth Games

Fachie and McLean winning the tandem cycling at the Games

I have never been so proud of my country than I was at the 2014 Games. There was something amazing about it. There was hardly a yes or no shout during the whole thing and it was just crazy to see our nation get behind the athletes. I heard Flower of Scotland a few times over the space of the games and cried a bit. I even had a wee greet whilst working at the games. Very professional Housty.

5. Nature

This picture still doesn't justify Loch Lomond's beauty

You don't need to go far in Scotland to witness some beauty in bonnie Scotland. On the west coast there is the amazing Loch Lomond with hills up at Arrochar and the Highlands. The Western Isles, the Orkneys and the Shetlands are isolated, but they show a completely different side to the busy central belt. I could go on forever of what beauty we have.

Britain

1. The Music

The Clash in their prime

We have arguably the best music culture in the world. The only one which is possibly better is the US, but then again - we created rock. The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Who, The Kinks, The Clash, Oasis, Blur, Pulp, The Libertines, Arctic Monkeys I could go on...We have some of the best lyricists and Britain still has a huge underground scene. It's probably the thing that makes me feel the most British.

2. Film Industry

The frightening Alex in Stanley Kubrick's "A Clockwork Orange"

It's the same as the music. We have such a great film industry which includes some of the best directors of modern times such as Shane Meadows, Richard Ayoade and Danny Boyle. Then you have to look to the likes of Ridley Scott, Stanley Kubrick and Alfred Hitchcock who directed some of our best films such as Alien, A Clockwork Orange and Psycho. 

3. London Olympics

Mo's win was one of the most memorable

Before the Commonwealth Games, there was London. The 2012 Olympics were incredible and the Super Saturday at the athletics was an amazing couple of hours of golds for Mo Farah, Jessica Ennis and Greg Rutherford. London Olympics was the first time that I experienced proper national pride. 

4. The British Empire

(In red) how much land Britain conquered

Even Russell Brand said the other day whilst talking about independence that whilst he wanted to see an independent Scotland, he had a sense of not wanting to let it go. And I agree. Growing up in Britain you celebrate the Empire in school and how powerful we used to be. We know that it was bloody, murderous and pretty much invasion (especially of countries like India, USA and South Africa) yet we don't want to let go of the idea of Britain. Certainly nothing wrong with that. I'll miss England, Wales and Northern Ireland if we go independent and I hope that they'll miss us.

5. The British Battles

UK, England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland

This one is a little closer to me than most, but when Scotland faces England, Wales and Ireland in any competition (whether sports, arts, academics etc) it's always really good fun to watch or take part. I wonder if we will continue this if we go independent? Some may argue that if we're on the same island, surely we will, but then would we compete in things like British championships? If the answer is no, I'll be pretty sad.

This post was nothing more than a bit of fun, if you have anything that you'd like to add, feel free to comment below.

Independence Referendum: Where Yes and No Have Gone Wrong

It's a two horse race and it's neck and neck (sorry)

So on the eve of one of the biggest political votes we will ever have to make, I've reflected on the past two years of campaigning from the Yes Scotland and Better Together campaigns. I think it is safe to say that both sides have their pros and cons and neither should be ridiculed for what they want from this referendum.

However, there has been incidents that have pushed me away from both of these campaigns and I'll list three faults that I see in them.

Yes #1: Mindless Propaganda

Both sides can be accused of this, but for all of Yes' good points they raise, they also use scaremongering tactics that questions the motives of a well-ran campaign. We'll take two over-used pieces of propaganda: "A government we didn't vote for" and a "Tory/UKIP coalition". Deputy First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, said in an article published today that "we have a Tory government we didn't vote for". As a United Kingdom, unfortunately we did - but you can't always get what you want out of democracy. If we had a Labour government in power at this moment in time, this quote would seen stupid. You could argue that every Labour voter in the UK didn't get a government they voted for. Fair enough, if we go independent we're more likely to have a socialist state, but this quote is a bit silly. As for the Tory/UKIP argument, if you really think that enough left-centre voters will change a vote to a right-wing party, then I don't think you have faith in the people of Britain. UKIP are nothing more than a phase in my opinion.

Yes #2: Keep Quiet, Figure Out Later

Of course, if we go independent it will not be so straight-forward. We technically still don't know what will happen in an independent Scotland. A number of talks will still have to take place to iron out key issues such as the currency and peace agreements. After reading Ewan Morrison's blog post "Why I Joined Yes and Why I Changed To No" I realised that the Yes campaign politicians are no different from any other politicians. They are evasive and will work things out after they win the referendum and confrontation won't be tolerated as the campaign has to keep happy and keep voters - meaning no negative talk in the Yes camp so that voters wouldn't turn to No. The Nazis used a similar bloody method: albeit to some incomparable extremes.  

Yes #3: The Utopia That Yes Are Creating

I'm not dismissing the campaign and what they want in an independent Scotland, but the yes campaign are talking about making a fairer, greener Scotland whilst relying on oil. They are talking about making a welfare state that gives everyone opportunity, whilst talking about becoming a country like Luxembourg and Switzerland - notorious tax havens. You can't please everyone.

No #1:  The Out-of-Touch Better Together Campaign

You would think that to reach out to voters, you would try and get a genuinely left-wing politician to mirror the left-wing Yes politicians, but instead Better Together pick Alistair Darling - a man who is a controversial figure in the UK. You would think that a campaign trying to get people to vote no for Devo Max would find someone who they can trust. Hell, I'd have preferred Gordon Brown or even the occasionally-batshit George Galloway to Darling. On top of that the campaign seems to look ever-so-patronising. *WOMEN! HEALTH! TOGETHER! COMMUNITY! FIGHT POVERTY!* Remind you of something?

German: Health, child protection, fighting poverty, aiding travellers, community, helping mothers.Again, not as extreme as this but you get the gist.

No #2: The BBC Bias

Seriously, even if every man and his dog that worked at BBC was strongly no - why couldn't they just keep it as impartial as possible? You could argue that some Yes campaigners were just being paranoid at first - and in some cases they have been - about the BBC, but Nick Robinson getting a little personal with Salmond the other day was surely enough to show that the BBC have been unnecessarily biased towards the no campaign. If they had kept the reporting so neutral that yes voters could have nothing to complain about, the no campaign may have had more voters at the moment.

No #3: Using So Many English People to Back up the Campaign

I have nothing against the English. I was born in England myself. My mum's English, I'm English, my little brother's English. Half my family are from England. However, if you are wanting people to vote for a union, you should be using Scottish people. It will make voters feel like they can relate to the person more in my opinion. There isn't an anti-English thing going on, but I feel there's a certain distrust towards our neighbours at this point in the referendum. 

To sum up, vote however you feel is correct. If you feel you are doing the right thing - do it. However, if you don't care - don't just vote for one side for the banter. For example, my mate Ryan has never been interested in politics and he's more pro-union than nationalist, but he isn't voting because he feels he doesn't know enough and he doesn't care enough to vote. And that is fair enough. 

Thanks if you have given this a read and I hope, like me, you support the country no matter what way it goes tomorrow.

F1: Is Nico Rosberg a Cheat?

Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix was brilliant from start to finish: throughout the 44 laps of the Spa-Francorchomps circuit we seen some world-class overtaking manoeuvres; action on every lap and a twist in the title race.

The twist I'm talking about is that of an incident that occurred on lap two of the race. Lewis Hamilton got himself into first at the first corner, whilst pole sitter Nico Rosberg dropped to third as countryman Sebastian Vettel got past him. By the second lap, Rosberg was past Vettel and was breathing down Hamilton's neck.

Rosberg went on the outside of Hamilton at Le Combes and managed to get slightly ahead. However, he didn't have the racing line so it would be likely that he'd let Hamilton go, however he committed to the next corner and that's when the two cars came together. Hamilton took his line expecting Rosberg to give space, Rosberg didn't give him space and clipped Hamilton's rear left tyre - which resulted in Rosberg also losing his front wing.

Hamilton had a puncture and was in dead last when he pitted. He realised that there was no point in continuing after a while and he retired the car. However, Hamilton went out to the press and told them that Nico admitted to him that he did it "on purpose" to "prove a point".

Since Monaco, the former best friends haven't seen eye-to-eye

Either the media took it out of context or Lewis was being melodramatic. Turns out that the Mercedes team heard it as he made the move to prove a point, not crashing into him to prove a point - and why not? Rosberg has came under criticism for not attacking enough so he tried it. Unfortunately, it all went wrong for Mercedes. Whether it was time and place to try an overtake is another matter, but the question is: Is Nico Rosberg a Cheat?

I do not believe he is. Why? Because I believe the British media fabricate to favour their home driver against one who is from Germany.

The only one I can really think of to be a possible form of cheating is at Monaco where in qualifying he went down an escape route because he apparently lost control of the steering a little and couldn't make the corner. This prevented Lewis having another lap.

Even that is a little far-fetched. If you watch Sky Sports F1, I believe you're more likely to be brainwashed into thinking "Britain is great, it's everyone else's faults" when there is more to it than that. Some paranoid Lewis Hamilton fans have went as far to think that Mercedes would tamper with their own driver's car to favour his rival team-mate. Obviously a German team are going to let their German driver win the title by sabotaging his team mate's, all at a cost of millions! Seems logical.

The reality is Nico tries to bend the rules a bit and sometimes gets away with it whilst Hamilton has been unlucky. As much as I dislike Hamilton (mainly because of those paranoid fans) he has been really unfortunate not to be leading the championship so far. Nico has been lucky, Lewis hasn't. But to go as far as sabotage is moronic. I wonder why Lewis fans don't complain when Sebastian Vettel suffers from the same number of mechanical misfortunes as their hero? Because it's just bias that people believe.

It can't be all down to the media though. Hamilton usually uses the media as a sob story opportunity to play himself as the victim of a crime. Crimes committed by Rosberg. Yes, Nico was more in the wrong because he made the move on Lewis that resulted in the crash and in other races he's involved in controversy, but Lewis' hero Ayrton Senna was worse yet Hamilton condemns Rosberg at nearly every race.

Anyway, opinions aside, it has to be said - with the exception of the lack of drivers fighting for the title - that this has been a really exciting year for F1 and whether you think Nico Rosberg is a cheat or not, I think most want to see this feud carry on for the sake of entertainment.

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Let me know what your opinion is on the matter by commenting below.