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.
No comments:
Post a Comment