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Better together – Better apart?

“Better together – Better apart” is a choice that the Scottish people will need to answer in September this year.  There is so much propaganda being shared on TV and in Scotland media which should better inform the peoples choice.  As I see it for every argument there seems to be a equally plausible and opposite view.

What/who are we to believe? – and I think that it may that for most people it will be their  core believes that will drive their vote on the decisive day.  As I continue to develop my own views about this choice that will be presented to the Scottish people can see some merit in both sides of the fence.

Independence on the one had certainly seems to lead to a lot of unknowns where as continuing with the status quo might seem like the “devil we know”!!!!

At least this is not a war that is taking place but rather an impassioned debate about what is best for Scotland and the UK as we know it.  I would not want to give the impression that I take the view that the UK parliament is the sole solution we need – far from it….

Today as I was watching a program about the Normandy landings I was caused to consider the sacrifice that many made so that we could live in freedom today.  Not having lived in that time it’s hard to fully appreciate the true extent of the sacrifice that was made by some many British people for the sake of our today!!!

I reflected on the following for a few moments – which I had used in a recent “father of the groom” speech.

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The Union as we know it is a bit like a marriage in that its a long term voluntary relationship.  I like the suggestion in the above quote that things are not always perfect and sometimes are broken – but that there is always an option to fix something that is broken as opposed to tossing it aside forever.  A key consideration is when do you judge it to be beyond repair?

So coming back to the point of this post – are we Better Together or Better Apart?.  I am not going to give a binary answer here – but I do believe that in politics we should be continually striving to fix what is broken in the society/system that we live in.  So what does this mean in relation to the Scotland Independence debate?  I guess that is the question that people will need to answer for themselves when they enter the ballot box.  To me its a pity that some people might apply a throwaway mentality when they make their decision.  For me I think that the evolution of devolution is a real alternative to full and final separation – the notion that we can stand together whilst still recognizing the value of regional variations is a key point.  Perhaps the notion of striving to make our society and politics stronger by fixing it where needed would be a better way to channel political energy as opposed  to promoting a total focus on independence/separation – after all young Scots, Welsh, Northern Irish and English all stood together through two world wars to protect the future and the freedom we now enjoy.

Finally – yes I do appreciate that is the freedom we have today that puts us in the position have an open independence debate in the first place, but I also feel that we should all share a sense of responsibility for nurturing what is good about our country and its democracy.

For me the debate is ongoing………

As the Apostle Paul says in his letter to the Thessalonians,  “Prove all things; hold fast that that which is good”  1 Thessalonians 2:15