LOOKING back to the 2014 referendum, so many of us were deflated at the result. It took me two to three weeks to get over it, but then I started to see these individuals on social media who had dusted themselves down and started to look forward to indyref2, and this inspired me to do the same.
Firstly, though, they had to take stock not just of the result but what went wrong. Social media started to have an impact with people posting opinions, and the biggest single fact that emerged was the LIES told by the No campaign. There’s no need to go over them again, we all know what they were. The Yes campaign wasn’t ready for the dirty tricks brigade plus putting the frighteners on those receiving pensions, benefits etc.
Now fast forward to the period from the start of last year to the present day.
Individual Yes groups started to emerge, mostly voicing the same rhetoric but based on slightly different themes. Now we see these groups coming together under the banner of the Scottish Independence Convention. This umbrella group has the key aim of bringing together pro-independence parties, groups and organisations to promote the concept and ideals of an independent Scotland. Let’s not forget All Under One Banner is also doing some fantastic work.
We now have something we didn’t have in 2013/14: organisation. The know-how to find information far more quickly, to such an extent that some have a library overflowing with it. One that comes to mind is, of course, Wings Over Scotland, which has a phenomenal amount of information.
We must have answers for every scenario, and, believe me we do, and every day it’s growing.
On Friday, there was a stonking article by Gordon MacIntyre-Kemp (Three exciting ideas to build a better Scotland, The National, October 13). On Saturday I read the article by Wee Ginger Dug (Here’s what we need to do NOW to fight for Indy, The National, October 14) – so much to take in but well worth the read – and from Pat Kane (Localism? The English left are late to a party that’s been in full swing in Scotland for years, The National, October 14).
These are but three of the great articles everyday along with excellent letters in The National.
All readers might not agree with everything that’s written, but they do get my juices flowing.
Nicola Sturgeon’s end-of-conference speech might not have everyone jumping up and down with euphoric delight, but to me it was a solid speech although she couldn’t give us what we wanted: a date for indyref2.
No surprise there, but read Angus Robertson’s lips: there “will” be another referendum.
Bring it on, and in Wee Ginger Dug’s words, if you want something done, ye need tae dae it yersel, Let’s dae this.
Dave Thornton
Yes City, Dundee
AM I being dim? I’m definitely confused. Am I living in an ever-changing reality? You see one minute I’m living in a United Kingdom which is made up of a group (sometimes called a family) of nations. That means my country (Scotland) is a nation. No, sorry ... that can’t be right cos sometimes my country isn’t a nation, it’s a region of a nation. So now the nation is the whole of the UK. So that means England is a region of the UK as well.
Unfortunately, nobody ever refers to England as a region of the UK, but bits of England are regions. So does that mean my country now has parity with an English region? If so, what do we call England? It can’t be a region of the UK, or that would put it on the same level as Wales and Scotland... Told you I was confused. Can anyone clarify this for me? Maybe Ruthie could help.
Barry
Blantyre
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