Post-Referendum The Work Goes On

We the people of Scotland have made our decision and it is not the one so many of us creative, life-affirming people hoped for. Faced with the possibility of fundamental change and a great leap forward, 55% of us stuck with the devil we know and were swayed by fears of the future fanned by big business, the banks and almost all the media, and by the empty vow of the 3 Establishment parties. My first reaction was to be scunnered at the outcome, except in Glasgow, Dundee, North Lanarkshire, West Dunbartonshire and Inverclyde, but I read that a clear majority of the under 55s voted Yes so there is the possibility of independence coming back on the agenda in the future when the 'big 3' fail to deliver. The wonderful grassroots multi-faceted Yes campaign is the key to that future and there has to be a determination not to 'go back in the box' and instead to find creative ways of sustaining it.

Thinking some more about how that 55%-45% Scotland Independence Referendum result came about. Big business, newspaper & BBC media were influential but the main responsibility lies with the Labour Party leaders who won this for the Tories. In particular, Gordon Brown, who came to their rescue when Darling was a busted flush with what Michael Gove yesterday called a 'wonderful speech'. Now that the 3 Amigos' panic vow is already falling apart, he's trying to shore it up with his speech in Fife this morning which I watched. He was jokey, smug, patronising & beating the drum again for British values. His campaign to talk up being British & failure to do anything about devo max as PM can only have given succour to the likes of the ignorant British Nationalist thugs who attacked Yes supporters in George Square last night. During the campaign I don't remember any of the No leaders condemning the extreme right wing and Orange support they got, because, of course, they needed it. It seems Glasgow's Labour Council has allowed 6 Orange marches through the city today. If that isn't fanning sectarian Unionist provocation I don't know what is. Thousands of people are joining the SNP and Scottish Green Party, and, based on its track record, the Scottish Labour Party deserves to be history at the 2015 and 2016 elections. Will the new We are the 45% movement help to bring that about?  I'd welcome the thoughts of friends about how the tremendous energies and passion of so many that came to the fore in the campaign can be nourished and sustained. 

Right now though I need to carry out some research on Hugh Miller and geology (nothing like geological time for getting some perspective on things) and then cut my grass.

Seize The Day!

On the eve of the most important day in Scottish history for over 300 years it's difficult to concentrate on anything else. It's time for us all to decide - between more of the same, and worse, from the UK parties and the prospect of a better future for the people of Scotland, and, indeed, the rest of the world. In my view it’s not just about a socially and economically fairer society and ending Trident and nuclear bases here, important though these are, but having the power in our own hands, as we do tomorrow, to create better and more culturally fulfilling ways of living for everyone. Will we have the self-belief to change history for the better, or will we let ourselves down because of fears and uncertainty? 

My geopoetics American friend Laura Hope-Gill says on her Facebook timeline that ‘the spirit of independence is its own force in nature. Self-actualization is a vital need, for people and for nations. In this scenario, Scotland's Yes movement has a vision which once opened does not close for any warnings or practical considerations. This is a calling, something poetic speaking into the din of the so-called pragmatic, a term that genuinely ought to include the poetic in its "looking at it from all sides" claim. Scotland wants to be Scotland on its own. It wants to be Scotland and have its own story once again, after a very long time. That's a powerful wish, and there is nothing practical or realistic about wishes, yet they often win and amaze and show us new ways the world can be. The world is changing, moving away from outmoded ways of governance and management of resources. Scotland just might show us how it's done.’

I’m reminded also of her beautiful Fb post after the death of Robin Williams about how seeing his wonderful portrayal of the teacher John Keating in Dead Poets Society made her decide to spend the rest of her life teaching poetry and motivating young and older people to live their lives to the full. This she has done, and enriched many lives in the process, and tomorrow the people of Scotland should follow her example... and seize the day!