Surprise as yes and no both lose Scottish referendum

19th Sept 2014

There was a surprise at the polls in Scotland yesterday when both the yes and the no sides lost in what was seemingly a simple choice between independence for Scotland or remaining part of the UK. The surprise winner with a clear majority of votes cast was the spoilt paper which was the result of some discussions which got going over the summer as to the role of nationalism and the opportunities that would be made available to all by a sensible and rational restructuring of the planet along the lines advocated by the Zeitgeist Movement (1). 

It had seemed until early summer that the “no” campaign would triumph.  There was a fact based argument for this as recent history and economic theory were clear on the effects of dividing territories.  The separation of Czechoslovakia in 1993 was the most relevant example and in this case trade between the two halves “collapsed” despite efforts to prevent this happening and assurances prior to the separation that this wouldn’t be the case. (2)

The case for spoiling papers by simply writing none of the above at the bottom of the voting paper was based on two points:

1              Nationalism was morally repugnant

2             Neither option was a rational way forward for Scotland or the planet and a great deal of unnecessary suffering and premature death was likely to be caused by not pursuing the third option

A strong sense of nationalism is actively encouraged by all leaders and it is easy to follow along and get caught up in the enthusiasm.  However, stepping back there is a very fine line indeed between nationalism which is encouraged and racism which is abhorred.  Racism is discrimination against people based on who they were born to whereas Nationalism is the ‘protection’ of people from something largely based on where they were born.  Perhaps the Scottish people have come to realise that there were no guidebooks in the womb and it was not an informed choice by most to be Scottish.

Einstein was correct when he described nationalism as an “infantile disease”.  The independence question is analogous to being asked if it is right continue with a policy of racism against all people of Asian ethnicity or whether to be more specific and discriminate against people of Indian or Chinese descent?  The population of Scotland appear to have recognised that the right thing to do is simply not to dignify the question with an answer and this may have been the reason for the clear win for the spoilt papers at the ballot box yesterday.

There is a fantastic legacy of Great Scots who went out and engaged with the rest of the world with huge success.  This is something that people from many developing countries are simply barred from doing by the travel and visa restrictions that have emerged over the past 100 years.  We must move on to discussing how we can break down barriers and get the world moving forward.  Fixing malnutrition and basic healthcare for all, which we already know how to do, is likely to be the quickest way to get to much more advanced remedies as we would then free up more people to work on more advanced science.   Independence is a question that has finally been kicked back into the last millennium – the world has moved on and by spoiling their papers the Scottish people have signalled that they want to be at the forefront of the new world. 

While rejecting nationalism at any level is a key step the real issue that the “None of the Above” campaign was highlighting was that both options appear to be looking to perpetuate a system of unnecessary protectionism, chaos and stress that can no longer be justified.  The ironically titled Commonwealth of countries were actually competing in Glasgow at around the time some of these arguments got going.  This structure and others have ensured wealth remains about as common as a pregnant panda in the modern world and indeed recent figures have shown that 46% of global wealth is owned by 1% people.

The Scottish people are more affected than the rest of the UK by hereditary degenerative conditions which are at present incurable and lifestyle factors which combine to make life expectancy lower than elsewhere in the UK.  The Scottish environmental factors including concentrated wealth, long wet winters and low quality soccer further pressurise many into smoking, abuse of alcohol and other drugs and obesity.   

Based on history and proposals Government from either London or Edinburgh would continue the existing policies and ensuring the majority are either occupied in largely unnecessary work or struggling to survive and not address the opportunity and requirement that technology is creating to restructure society.  Neither a yes or no vote seemed likely to commit to the sort of reorganisation that is required to deliver a good standard of living and additional free time to the majority.  Focussing on change now may well be a matter of life or death for the majority of Scots. 

Leading biogerontologist, Aubrey De Grey (3), has suggested the first people to live for a thousand years have already been born.  It seems reasonable to anticipate that the more focus we put on curing aging and other diseases now the larger that group is likely to be.  Despite what many people think nobody actually KNOWS whether they are part of that group or not.  As the Zeitgeist movement has clearly explained with appropriate reorganisation and continued innovation the future is likely to be very much better than the present.

Bibliography

1. Various. The Zeitgeist Movement Defined. http://www.thezeitgeistmovement.com/. [Online] http://www.thezeitgeistmovement.com/uploads/upload/file/19/The_Zeitgeist_Movement_Defined_6_by_9.pdf.

2. Ghemawat, Pankaj. World 3.0: Global Prosperity and How to Achieve It. World 3.0: Global Prosperity and How to Achieve It. s.l. : Perseus Books Group, 2011, pp. (Kindle Locations 775-789).

3. Grey, Aubrey De. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aubrey_de_Grey. http://en.wikipedia.org. [Online]