A Dreamers Thoughts on the Referendum

This is a big week in Scotland. On Thursday my country will have the chance to decide whether or not it wants to be independent from the United Kingdom. It's a big decision that many people have been toiling over for the past few years, and even more so in the last few months and weeks leading up to the date.

I was firmly in the No camp when it all began for reasons that were pretty shit to be honest. One of the main ones was that I would never vote for Alex Salmond and the SNP. Because I'm not one of those over bearing nationalists. By the same token, when I was going to vote no, it wasn't for the stupid reason that I'd want to keep the Queen - I'm not one of those folk! Then I realised that a Yes vote is not a vote for the SNP, and that Alex Salmond (although I still find him smarmy and sleekit) is the leader of the Yes campaign. I couldn't stand that Nicola Sturgeon either (she kind of redeemed herself in the BigBigDebate on Thursday night with George Galloway and Ruth Davidson). I mean look at those last few sentences. That's what I was basing my No vote on. How stupid. Yikes!

Once I read a few pieces and saw what was happening in the press and on the news I started to wonder "What if...". What if the people of this beautiful country of ours could dare to dream. Dream of a country that would hopefully be a fairer society, a place where the NHS won't becoming a business but was still a service catering for it's people, a country that welcomed people with open arms. What if, eh.

Now, I'm a dreamer, I know. I know the Scotland garden isn't going to be all rosy for a while after the vote. But why can't we do this? Oh yes, I've read the things the No campaign have been saying. The pound! The banks will move their headquarters south! Supermarkets and huge department stores will bang up their prices! Guards on a fictional border! (FFS, really?!)

But where is the positive in my vote for No? Where and what is it? Because I think I've yet to hear / see / read any positives in voting No. Now, I like to think I've read quite a bit about it but i may have missed stuff along the way. A lot that I've heard from the No camp is scare mongering and negativity. I'm under no illusions about the Yes camp too, by the way. Neither side of the vote gives proper straight up answers. I've had to go searching in papers for answers to some of my questions. For example...Borders at Gretna - do you think the UK Government is going to spend millions (or billions) putting up a fence/wall and then have to spend money to man that fence/wall, and keep it maintained and policed and all the rest of it? They'd be daft if they did. See, I've read stuff. But it's a gut feeling. My more flippant side says "fuck it, why not go for it".

Maybe I'm getting carried away. But why shouldn't we get carried away. I don't want to be sitting years from now saying what if - jeez I've read many a pin on Pinterest that says that very thing... No regrets. This is the chance to make a change because we can. Everyone's always going on about making changes is good. Perhaps this is the time? Who's to say...

This morning I watched a video on YouTube that someone retweeted on Twitter. I found myself nodding with this young guy talking in a hall, somewhere in Glasgow. The video wasn't long, but it was good and he made some good points. All of those people who got on a train and hot footed it to Scotland this week, those politicians who don't care about us (because that's how I feel) unless they've got something major to lose, your Cameron's and Miliband's and Brown's and the rest. Them. Do you think they were told you can't do this? you can't do that? you can't become prime minister? you can't be the wrong brother to lead the labour party. Do you think they've been told they can't do those things? Maybe they were, but they went ahead and followed their dreams. And now they've visited us to tell us that we can't. Because that's the impression I got. We can't do this. We're Better Together! As a guy on a debate two weeks ago said, "if we're Better Together, why aren't we better together already?". They were up here telling us we can't have this dream. And yet they've followed theirs.

Which way will Scotland vote?

Yes, I've gone back to that dreamer word. And maybe you're thinking that my Yes vote isn't based on anything other than a dream. But to me that's fine (and you'd be wrong). But it's my vote, and I'm going Yes because I have hope. I am dreaming. My glass is half full.

Those were just some thoughts as I showered this morning after the gym. I do a lot of thinking in the shower. Don't worry, back to posts and pictures from New York tomorrow *wink*.

Angela x