I’ve been thinking we need a short, simple, true explanation of why Scotland should be independent, that all, regardless of age, experience, background or understanding of political and economic arguments, can understand.
In the early hours, just awake, it seemed that this would be more elegant in its simplicity but as I wrote things became fussy. However, waste not want, this is my attempt.
Why it’s normal to be independent
It’s normal. Scotland was an independent country for around 1 000 years before the union with England only just over 300 years ago. We are surrounded by independent countries, many quite small like Ireland, Iceland, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, The Netherlands and even tiny Luxembourg. Most are better off, healthier and happier than we are yet only two, Norway, and Iceland, have the massive natural resources of wind and wave power, gas, oil, fish and other food products that we have. Some, like Norway and Ireland, only got their independence in the last 100 years. None of them want to be taken over by a larger country.
Why it’s right to leave Britain/ Britain was a bad idea
Britain, the four nations of England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland along with a scatter of islands all over the world is the remains of a vast empire which used violence to conquer weaker populations and steal their resources. Millions died in war or in the famine and disease caused by Britain’s policies. None of us were taught about this in schools and by an education system designed to pretend Britain was civilising and educating these barbarian people. Were any of you taught about the Opium Wars when the royal Navy bombarded Chinese cities to force them to accept that British companies could sell them huge amounts of opium that would destroy their communities with addiction? Were you taught about Britain’s extreme violence, in the Scottish Highlands in the 18th Century, in Ireland in the early 20th Century, in Kenya in the 1950s? Did you know that under Queen Victoria, millions died from famine in India due to economic policies that, among other things, used the railways to take rice away from the starving? I did Higher History in 1968 and heard only how great the British Empire was.
Why many Scots want to stay in Britain
There are three reasons. One is the education we, especially the older have had, based on lies about how great Britain was and is. We never heard of the massive poverty in our cities while at the same time Britain was conquering the world and enriching its powerful elites. We hardly ever heard of our own writers and poets, force fed Chaucer, Shakespeare and dozens of other English cultural figures. Schools made us feel inferior, somehow not fit to be a nation. Two is the mainstream media, 90% in favour of the Union, lying to us daily, undermining our confidence by choosing to report mostly that which is negative and in ways to make it seem that Scotland’s government is not competent. The most obvious example is the unique way in which only BBC Scotland links reports of problems in health, education or policing to opposition party calls for SNP ministers to resign. Three, is the Labour Party, dependent entirely on orders from its London bosses, it champions the Union every step of the way and, in control of Scotland for much of the last century responsible for what has been our education.
I’ll stop there. Readers will no doubt have much more to say.
Talking-up Scotland 
Steady Big Man, we Scots are not made to take-in such common sense and intelligent comment in one sitting.
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Yes indeed ! As a recent former Labour Leader in Scotland might have said –
”Scots are genetically incapable of being taught The Truth about our History ! ”
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It has taken nearly 100 years but are nearly there. Getting rid of Westminster lies and total corruption. The Scottish education system highlighting the lies. Through the universities etc. Iraq, Lockerbie, Dunblane kept secret for 100 years.
Make the world a better place. Vote for Independence. To curtail Westminster unionist destruction. Less damage will be done to the world, misusing and mismanaging Scottish revenues and resources. By Westminster unionist hypocrites.
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Well put John. And any doubters should take a look at this and ask why we would choose to be governed by a cabal of far right sociopaths. Labour has no prospect of returning to power. So it’s Independence and choosing our own Government or this ⬇️
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/tory-dwp-chief-belts-out-25148953
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Don’t think Charles Stuart’s guys in your pic were fighting for independence unless they too were duped.
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https://www.thenational.scot/news/19224648.lasting-link-jacobites-independent-scotland/
The Jacobite Rising of 1745-46 was certainly a fight for a Scottish nation, too. Ending the Anglo-Scottish union of 1707 to restore the Stuarts’ multi-kingdom monarchy was a key Jacobite war aim. https://theconversation.com/culloden-why-truth-about-battle-for-britain-lay-hidden-for-three-centuries-62398
https://onlineshop.oxfam.org.uk/the-myth-of-the-jacobite-clans-murray-pittock-2nd-edition-2009/product/HD_300276452?pscid=ps_ggl_OOS+-+Smart+Shopping+-+Books+-+Prospecting+-+2021_Ad+group&crm_event_code=20REUWWS08&gclid=CjwKCAjw7–KBhAMEiwAxfpkWJaInJGna8Hc0KFIF-_9ncX7vb3Dt8eeUMyPGn2JW9jQo9BtgiRl7RoCem4QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
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A union of nations that has never been and never will be a force for good. Hell bent on war mongering and invading countries they have no business to interfere in. Bombing and profiteering from killing innocent people. Indifferent to the poverty residents of their ‘Great Britain’ expérience as long as the elite prosper.
Why oh why would anyone want to be associated with these evil lot?
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It is a truth that all empires take wealth from the areas they conquer. The UK/GB whatever was no different. You can find examples of some empires that settled down and did do some good but these were exceptions.
The trouble we have is that the structural base of the UK Government is based on an illusion of past greatness and deference to a monarchist and parliamentary structure that is not democratic. I feel that England will never change until it hits rock bottom hopefully after we, Northern Ireland and Wales have departed it’s political influence. Can’t come soon enough for me.
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As far as being surrounded by other ‘independent’ countries it could be argued that England, unlike Scotland, has enjoyed the considerable benefits of independence including siphoning off £000bn’s of our wealth. In 300+ years of the union Westminster, has to my knowledge, never legislated for anything that benefitted Scotland alone and in many instances has instead subjected us to the evils of WMD, Poll tax, Illegal and other Wars/conflicts that have killed thousands of Scots and I’m sure there are many other examples.
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It’s existential. Being joined at the hip to England and dominated by them, we are not free to live our own national life but are living somebody else’s. Life is precious. Too precious to not live your own life and reach your own potential.
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Independence.
Its natural.
Its normal.
Its the way to go.
No country has ever gone back.
The UK is now reverting to its status as “Treasure Island”, run by rentiers, cabals, monopolists, combines—all “sweating assets”, fixing prices and contracts.
The ruling party in the UK is one of the most corrupt of advanced governing regimes. Funded by Oligarchs, stolen money, drug money, corrupt money—London is the world biggest money “laundry”.
The media in the UK is run by a handful of vastly rich, right-wing, zealots who support the Tories (remember Blair and Brown flying off to Ozz to kow-tow, and pay homage to Murdoch?).
The UK is no longer a democracy. It is a kleptocracy and a corporate dictatorship, headed by a “royal” family who think they are above the law, and an unscrupulous Elite who lie, cheat and intimidate to maintain their power.
The UK MAFIA!
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OK they were convinced by the multi kingdom monarchy thing.
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1707 pop Scotland 1million. Pop England 7Million, 1/8th
2021 Pop Scotland 5.4million. Pop England 55million. 1/12
Scotland pop has only increase since 2000 Devolution. From 1900 5million.
Scotland has been depopulated by Westminster.Gov. The Jacobite rebellion 1715/45 brutally put down. Occupation campaign against Scotland. People deported.. The Clearances, the £10 passage. People migrated to get a job because of higher unemployment in Scotland.
Scotland has a 40million diaporia. US, NZ, Australia, Canada. Migrants worldwide. Scotland has not been treated equal according to the Terms of the Treaty of Union. An International Treaty. Reneged upon. Scottish revenues and resources funding London S/E.
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Scotland (population of over 5.4 million people): 129 MSPs, 29 Ministers, 32 local authorities and 59 MPs.
Yorkshire (population of over 5.3 million people): 50 MPs and 15 local authorities.
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Exactly. The whole country of Scotland only has 9 more MPs than Yorkshire!
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Excellent John, though I’d replace ‘education’ with a type of brain washing, denying the people of Scotland their own story, their own history and an attempt to stamp out their own identity, it’s what the British colonists did all over the planet. Scotland is their last colony and now with their absolutely catastrophic Brexit, they will cling even more to their gravy train and suck the lifeblood out of our country if they can get away with it.
The BritNats narrative is to try to portray their UK as a ‘union’, even an equal one, the sooner the rest of the people of Scotland realise it is anything but a ‘union, or equal, the better. The SNP/Greens must make sure to highlight just how much Scotland has been taken for granted and had their resources and revenues removed with a few measly crumbs thrwon back at Scotland, be grateful you sweaty Jocks ha ha ha!! But more than that, SNP MUST make clear how much they are having to cushion the English governments’ blows to the most vulnerable, the poorest in our society, the working poor, the disabled, the pensioners, and many others who are being denied the basics which are written into the Human Rights Act, heating, food and shelter, people being denied a decent living by the corrupt criminals down in London.
Only independence can stop that situation becoming much worse, the Tories and their Labour pals will continue to breech basic human rights for the poorest and vulnerable, Scotland has a lifeboat let’s use it before the criminals at WM sink the damn thing as well.
Indy Car Gordon had much to say on this yesterday at his Youtube channel. worth a watch.
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There are, unfortunately, a substantial cohort of people who will always back the union no matter how bad it gets simply for religious reasons. Most of these people, well the ones I know, will never accept that independence is normal
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Independnce is NORMAL.
It’s those that deny it that are not normal 😦 Who in their right mind wod want their country to be dictated to by a right wing Tory government run by sphycopaths, child abusers, corrupt self serving overpriced, lying biggots who bleed you country dry of its rich resources and rob the poorest in our society to line the pockets of their fthy stinking rich tax evadering friends who hive their vast riches stashed away offshore in their Tax avoiding tax haven bank accounts. 😦
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Oddly enough I learned about the Opium War in my O level year in 1967. Our teacher handed out tons of notes at the start of the year and told us, “learn these and you’ll pass your exam, now I’m going to ignore these and teach you some real history.”
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Independnce is NORMAL.
It’s those that deny it that are not normal 😦 Who in their right mind wod want their country to be dictated to by a right wing Tory government run by sphycopaths, child abusers, corrupt self serving overpriced, lying biggots who bleed you country dry of its rich resources and rob the poorest in our society to line the pockets of their fthy stinking rich tax evadering friends who hive their vast riches stashed away offshore in their Tax avoiding tax haven bank accounts. 😦
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