When the idea of Scottish independence comes up in conversation, most people’s first thought is of a kilt-wearing Mel Gibson complete with blue face paint standing defiantly in front of the English Army during the climax of the movie “Braveheart.”
Not what you wanted to see either, huh? Shifting forward to modern times, the idea of Scottish independence is once again coming into question, with the vote for independence from the United Kingdom occurring this Thursday. If, somehow, we were able to team up with Marty McFly and bring William Wallace to present day, I believe he would be ashamed of the current effort being made by the Scottish Nationalist’s for several reasons.
Being frank, the current vote doesn’t mean much in the broad scope of things. Before the twenty first century, independence efforts used to have monumental effects upon the newly freed countries. Look at India for example: when the British finally let go of their colonial pet project there in 1947, there were violent clashes between many religious entities who were all looking to flood into the void left by their colonial master. Individuals were given rights that were previously withheld, freedoms that weren’t experienced, and opportunities beyond anything that they could have imagined before. What is occurring in Scotland now is a weak comparison.
The biggest impacts of the vote are Scotland’s ownership of offshore oil and their membership to NATO or, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. However, even these are both not that significant. Scotland doesn’t stand to gain much in the way of oil ownership when the loss of British capital and support is accounted for, not to mention the dismal global forecast for oil prices in the near future. Additionally, Scotland is in close proximity to other NATO member countries. This inherently offers them protection against almost any attack, because the neighboring countries would be affected, giving them license to act. Therefore, any NATO decision that an independent Scotland could make would be little more than a political temper tantrum.
Understanding now how little the vote actually matters, in the face of global current events, indicates that this vote is nothing short of selfish on the part of Scottish Nationalists. They have done nothing but occupy the time of both the British Parliament as well as their own citizens, when it could have been much better spent on the consideration of other more pressing issues like the rise of ISIS, or the separatism issue in the Ukraine.
So, in conclusion, I say congratulations to you, Scotland, for your political self high-five. While you argue about old world semantics, the world continues to tackle true political issues with courage and fortitude that even Braveheart could be proud of.
