Scottish Independence: What It Is And What It Isn't

I continue to be surprised by the continuing ferocity of the Scottish 'independence' debate. But what no-one is telling the people exactly what it is a debate about and what it is not about. So right off the bat let's get one thing straight, it is not about independence for Scotland. For me independence means just that, free from central control or coercion. In this article I will examine what it is people are arguing about. First, let's start with the general types of people I have come across in Scotland lately.

The Three Types of Scot
 

First is the die hard independence fans who are usually- but not always -SNP supporters. This kind of person believes that what is currently being sold is true independence for Scotland. Some of the more optimistic of this lot even believe we may eventually detach from the British monarchy and that we're going to write some kind of constitution that will solve all of our problems, they also tend to believe that we'll all be rich from North Sea oil money and that the EU is really no bar to freedom. I have found these nationalist people to be incredibly (and some may even say naively) optimistic. Which sets them apart from the second type of person – the unionist.
 

I have found unionists to be a gloomy and unimaginative lot. They tend to scare-monger that all sorts of economic disasters will haunt us if we detach from the Westminster government. Some even go further and scare-monger about guards patrolling the border between Scotland and England and that you'll need a passport to visit your aunt in the Lake District. The unionist gloom seems to me to be about people who are resigned to state control and have accepted their political and royal rulers (some are even suffering from severe Stockholm syndrome) and fear that any radical change (even one as UN-radical as so-called Scottish independence as it's been presented to us) will upset the only way of life they want to know.
 

These two common types of Scot with the nationalist normally being wildly optimistic and the unionist being wildly pessimistic tend to give rise to the third common type of Scot – the undecided voter. The lack of common sense and vision in the pro and anti independence camps leaves the undecided voter highly confused and unable to distinguish what exactly an independent Scotland -as presented to them -would look like.
 

So particularly to you the confused and undecided citizen let me use this article to paint a vision of a Scotland which is actually free and independent and serves the people. Unlike the nationalist I don't think that we will see this truly radical vision for Scotland materialize in my lifetime and unlike the unionist I do not think that it will never be so. I present this vision so that my children or grandchildren or even great-grandchildren may live free in this beautiful country.

Why It's Not Independence
 

I find it bizarre that many in the pro independence camp fail to see very clearly how the vision presented of an independent Scotland by the SNP in particular has virtually nothing to do with freedom. Let's start with the obvious then – the fact that the SNP will keep the monarchy.

It never ceases to amaze and confuse me how many people are suffering from extreme Stockholm syndrome in Britain in general. An institution as backwards and useless as the monarchy are praised and worshipped by thousands. These people have no legitimate right to their position. Just because you are born into a certain family does not make you any better than anyone else and anyone who thinks it does is either mentally ill or horrifically brainwashed. In my “The Facts About The British Monarchy” article I dispelled the myth that the monarchy are good for Britain in any way. For a start they violently steal your money through taxation to fund their ridiculously lavish lifestyle. Furthermore they don't even give back to the country. The myth that they bring in tourists is easy to debunk just look at the VisitBritain website and you'll see that Chester Zoo, Stonehenge and the Roman Baths are all more successful tourist attractions than Windsor Castle, which is the only occupied royal residence to attract visitors in large numbers and that's just England! They do nothing for Scotland's tourism. As for representing us abroad, well one only has to look at the racist comments made by Prince Harry calling someone a “Rag-head” and a “paki” or the many many many racist remarks that have come out of Prince Philips vile mouth. Even the SNP were once dead against the monarchy? Anyone remember that? It does seem like such a long time ago. Now we can say that they're only in favour of keeping the Queen to bolster support for so-called independence. That sounds a lot like trading principles for votes for me.

But the monarchy isn't the only way that the Scottish people would be shackled to a violent and coercive gang of thieves. It is simply ludicrous to talk of independence while wanting to stay part of the European Union. It's just madness. You can't talk of independence and then hand over power to make laws and regulate immigration policy to a collectivist bureaucratic nightmare such as the EU. But it not only has the power to make a percentage of our laws, it also has the power to override the judicial system through the controversial European Court of Human Rights. More worryingly what we have seen throughout the history of the EU is that it's doing what every other government does by it's nature and that is growing and exerting more control over it's member states. It's all very well talking about detaching from England and Wales only to find them as fellow states subject to a Brussels- based government in the United States of Europe.
 

There is of course yet another aspect to this debate and that's about currency. First the SNP wanted join the Euro (which in itself shows deep economic ignorance) then when the inevitable happened in the Eurozone in countries like Greece and Spain they decided on a bizarre policy of keeping the British pound. If a country is to be truly free then there can be no central bank involvement. Fractional reserve banking is one of the many ways that governments control the people. Printing fiat currency that is backed by nothing simply creates mountains of debt that is impossible to pay off. What do I propose instead? Well I am a believer in the free market so I would not be afraid of individuals setting up competing currencies. Also with the rise of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Litecoin we are seeing new ways to look at the issue of currency.

Conclusion
 

It concerns me deeply that we are debating something that's so far removed from actual independence and freedom for Scotland. With the big three control mechanisms in place (the monarchy, the EU and the Bank of England) it seems clear to me that this is really about some more measly powers for the Scottish parliament dressed up to be something that it clearly is not. So to our pro-independence friends I say fine, vote yes but know that Scotland will only be truly free if it becomes a stateless society. We can write all the constitutions we want, the Soviet Union had one. The US apparently has one although it didn't take very long for politicians to violate it. Also to our frightened Unionist friends don't worry, if there's a 'yes' vote then all the authoritarian control that you so badly crave will still be right there with it's boot where you like it – firmly on your face.
 

Don't worry, I haven't forgot about you my undecided friends. There is a way to achieve true freedom and liberty in Scotland but it takes courage. The most courageous thing the Scottish people could do is to remove all traces of authoritarianism, statism and that means all state control from this country, then and only then we will be truly independent.

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