Thoughts from a yes supporter in 2012 In general As far as I can see the pro independence side of the debate

is full of people who really like the idea of Scotland having the right to make its own decisions, use its own resources and change Scotland for the better, looking positively towards the future. The unionist side of the debate appear to have a distinct lack of faith in Scotland and her people being able to achieve this, for reasons which they dont appear to have. Better together The main argument for a no vote is two words: 'better together'. The truth is of course Scotland and England should work together, but as individual countries, with their own governments, identities, their own agendas, their own land and sea boundaries, their own choices, their own defence policies, working together when necessary, but acting and trading internationally as individual countries. This would allow and encourage both countries to change for the better economically, politically and culturally. There is every reason to suggest that if Scotland becomes a normal country whose government uses its resources to suit the needs of the people in a fair and just way, Scotland would change and prosper while developing into the type of country every Scot knows it could and should be. Economy There is at least forty years of oil left, over one trillion pounds worth. If that isnt a good basis to begin as a normal independent country, then what is? Scotland has, and always has, been a lot more than the oil. Whisky, science, medicine, engineering, fishing, farming, inventing and a host of other things we have excelled at, are a reflection on the type of people we are. History shows that we are a caring, sharing nation with socialist values of equality and fairness. Its not all about money, thats what shallow folk think, folk with no integrity, greedy folk. Future When I vote yes Ill be voting for a better future, fairness, equality, democracy, and to regain a true sense of identity and culture for Scotland. Not just shortbread tins and tartan rugs but innovation, a fundamental positive change in the countries attitude and vision of itself, changing for the better, looking to the future. To join the list of many relatively small but economically stable and powerful, successful independent countries who do things their own way, decide who their friends are and are not constantly told what to do by someone else. We're so used to it here in Scotland that we dont even see it anymore, we just take it as normal, but it's not. Fairness Ill be voting to live in a fairer society where votes actually matter. In the Scottish referendum in October of 2014, one hundred percent of the votes will reflect one hundred percent of the outcome, as opposed to the U.K election where one hundred percent of the Scottish votes reflects less than ten percent of the outcome. The transformation of all Scottish political parties when focused solely on an independent Scotland would obviously be far more beneficial. Far more powerful and fairer our democracy would be if all parties relied only upon the votes of the Scottish electorate and had to focus on creating policies which would solely be based in the best interests of Scotland and her people. If we vote yes the whole public attitude towards government and politics in general will change, presently a large majority of

people are totally detached from it and couldnt care less. No doubt years and years of pointless voting in the U.K election has played a part in this, alongside expenses scandals and an untold number of other things. There might have been power in a union at one stage but as far as this union goes the plug was pulled out the socket a long time ago. Reality The only realistic chance Scotland has at having the power it is entitled to will be through self determination. Too many people are looking backwards instead of forwards. Stand up and be recognised internationally as a trading nation, or tell the world that we would rather have a government who we voted against making our big decisions for us. Its a ridiculous situation where things need to change and a huge chunk of well informed people in Scotland and elsewhere can see that. I sincerely hope this is not the last time the people of Scotland have a proper say in the countries future but I personally believe that a vote of no to self determination would result in this, for at least another generation, if not forever. Uncertainty If Scotland gained independence there would be no leaving done by anyone. Leaving is a very misleading word, as is the word separatists. There would be little or no separation following a yes vote at the referendum. Uncertainty is also a word which is overused. These three words can paint some very misleading pictures. No campaign leader, Alistair Darling loves to say All this uncertainty. But the reality is uncertainty is when your country is involved in a war that you dont want it to be, uncertainty is when your country has involvement in nuclear war heads that you dont think should be there, uncertainty is when your country is led by a government that ninety percent of your country didnt vote for, uncertainty is when you are over one trillion pounds in debt and uncertainty is when the big decisions that affect your country are made in a different country. Never mind whether or not we need to reapply to join the E.U, or whether or not we even want to. There are a whole host of uncertain issues which revolve around the independence debate, however the one thing that is certainly not uncertain and can be said with a high degree of certainty, is that these issues can change, evolve, diminish or prosper at any time regardless of who the boss is, who makes the decisions or who runs the country. Self governance The fact is the Scottish government, whoever that might be, will be in a far better position to listen to and serve the Scottish people than any government based in London. The idea that Scotland and England should act as one with the government based in London, in my opinion, will sound ridiculous in a few years time if we vote for independence. People who are saying better together, this is the way it should be and the way it should stay really need to take a closer look at what theyre saying. It would be great if the debate never revolved around what difficulties there would be and what problems might occur, but instead focused on answers as to how we could overcome these difficulties and solve these problems. No matter how many of the issues are addressed and dealt with I fear a section of the Scottish people will vote No to 'save Britain' and 'stay together', which of course has nothing to do with the debate or the vote. Collectively, socially and geographically Britain will always be Britain, Scotland and England will always be neighbours and we will all still be British. In the same way that Norway and Sweden will always be Scandinavian. There

are a lot of people on both sides of the debate who have very strong and imbedded views, but some tend to have a lack of willingness to look closely at the facts and fully understand the economical and political events that have led us to this point. Positivity People who refuse to see the obvious will be outnumbered by the people who can see the truth, hopefully the former will be in the minority and we can all move forward with confidence and positivity towards a safer, greener, wealthier, healthier and more democratic Scotland than ever before. It wont be instant utopia and it wont change overnight but it will be a step in the right direction. The past is the past and always will be, its the future thats important. All I know is I love my country and I want whats best for it, independence ticks all the boxes. A conservative, labour, democratic, nationalist, socialist or green party who is based in Scotland and focuses solely on policies and strategies which are designed to help and suit the needs and best interests of the Scottish people , may well happen in an independent Scotland. It will be one hundred percent guaranteed never to happen if the Scottish electorate vote no in the referendum, and the current Scottish government, who the people of Scotland have repeatedly elected, will have failed to achieved what they have always set out to, leaving Scotland with a less than ten percent say in this so called United Kingdom, where the extremely poor are allegedly united with the extremely rich. Negativity A no vote is to secure a lack of change and improvement. Greed, power, better together? Millions of people around the globe can see the harm it does. Voting No in 2014 is a negative vote for your lack of belief in your country and her people which in turn could relate to negative consequences. To sneer at and deny the people of Scotland who believe their country should be independent and have valid reasons for this which are mainly based on making Scotland stronger, fairer and more economically stable, is a bit like urinating on your own doorstep, for want of a better expression. Negative thoughts and opinions as to what would happen if Scotland becomes independent are based on feelings of fear. The fear of comprehending the fact that what youve always believed might in some way be untrue, refusing to acknowledge that you focus mainly on the ifs, buts and maybes of possible negative outcomes and vehemently deny or dispute any factual information in favour of independence that is put in front of you. This is no way to proceed in arguing against independence but the core of the no campaign appears to be based on this perspective. Jedi powers of a unionist 1. Deceit and deception 2. Lies 3. Scare tactics 4. Muddying the water 5. Misinformation 6. Attack the opposition leader 7. Witch hunt the opposition party 8. Twisted truths 9. Smoke screens 10. Deflecting important questions. Above is the list of modules that must be mastered to achieve the maximum effect as a pro unionist campaigner. Once these areas have been learned and fully under-

stood you will have the means to spread negativity and cast doubt on the success of a future independent Scotland and her people. Scaremongering Most online posts show great examples of this. If people in favour of the Westminster government focused more on why Scotland would be stronger in the U.K and what benefits that would have in the future, then there would be an argument. But the customary You dont know what will happen or 'How can you be sure?' or the constant attacking of Alex Salmond and permanent hostility towards the SNP wont work for nearly two more years. Its worrying though that at present it would appear that half the people who will vote no in the referendum will do so because they dont like Alex Salmond or they dont like the SNP. These people fail to acknowledge that the referendum is not about one person or one political party, it is about the future of Scotland and how best to look after her people. Thankfully the vote isn't tomorrow and we've hopefully got time to get the facts and figures, comparisons, truths and observations laid out on the table for all to see. Deflection

Is Santa Claus real? The unionist answer to this question would be something like Christmas is very real, think of tinsel, fairy lights, Christmas crackers, Christmas presents and mince pies...if you vote for independence you can rest assured your crackers wont bang, your lights will go out and your presents will just be empty shoe boxes. In other words any scrap of information at all, totally unfounded or unrelated to the question of whether or not Scotland should be an independent country, is what is being used as a deflection away from the real question which of course is the last thing in the world that pro unionists want undecided voters to hear. Im not suggesting that people dont need to know all the facts and shouldnt be concerned as to what independence would mean, but considering the fact that the vote is not until October 2014, and considering the Scottish government have explained they will be releasing a white paper in 2013 which explains the details of how an independent Scotland would operate, the debate will undoubtedly have certain questions which cannot be answered fully and with conviction at this early stage. The process is a very complex one, but that shouldnt be used as a reason to prevent it from happening. No one ever achieved anything with this type of attitude. Emigration
Ive heard a few people talking about leaving Scotland if there is a No vote. At first I thought the idea was stupid and a bit selfish even, but then after thinking about it for a wee while I could fully understand why some people, perhaps in a passing moment of disgust at the thought of a No vote, are actually serious about leaving their country, the country they love. It's not crazy to suggest that if Scotland decided to vote No to independence the alarming numbers of people who are considering or are in the process of moving to another country will continue to rise. I think a lot could be drawn from further analysis of this. It really hits home at the heart of the debate for me. I've asked a few folk I know and here's the results of the survey the main reasons for the people of Scotland voting No to independence are:

1. I don't like Alex Salmond. 2. I don't like the SNP. 3. We'd be fu*ked 4. We joost couldnae dae it oan oor ain. 5. Look what happened to Greece and Iceland 6. Im proud to be British 7. Whit happens if Alex Salmond dees. 8. The oil will run out soon. 9. I support Rangers 10. Aw i dunno man. So as the future of our great country hangs on a shoogly peg and awaits the result of the referendum, it doesn't take a nuclear physicist to work out why people get angry enough to suggest if Scotland votes No their leaving. Each one of the reasons in the above list has very little or no relevance at all in the simple question of should Scotland be self governed. Weans wi brains Sixteen and seventeen year olds can get married have kids and pay tax so of course they should have the right to vote. Even if every sixteen and seventeen year old voted the same way it would be about 88000 votes which is about 3% of the electorate. Its hardly a desperate attempt to fix the referendum, as many unionists suggest. Nessie

It must be out there somewhere, somewhere among the many lanes and pathways of information, past and present, circulating these islands. Somewhere along our extensive, beautiful coastline perhaps or maybe it got lost wandering the highlands and is soon to be rediscovered. It could be that it simply blends into the background on one of our busy city streets or it might be out at sea, buried in the ground. I just cant help wondering if someday, someone will somehow produce something, anything that suggests Scotland should not become an independent country. As time goes on the chances of this happening are less and less likely. No doubt if I look further afield in lets say London, Washington, Brussels or Madrid I will find an attempt at a reason, but these attempts dont count, this is about the people of Scotland, no one else. Independence day This will be a day of unparalleled magnitude in recent Scottish history. Thousands of honest, proud, intelligent people in nearly every country around the globe want Scotland to achieve her right to self determination, but they dont get a say. Only one small group of individuals on this planet have the chance to put things right, the chance to make things normal and the chance to make things better in the place they live. Dont be scared of change, change will be very gradual, but in ten or twenty years time from now when our economy has stabled, when we are no longer under Westminster rule, when we have returned to our core values of fairness and equality and when we have ensured

our moral standing on free healthcare and free education for all, will the next and future generations of Scots benefit from our positive and courageous actions. Vote aye
Vote aye use oil make Scotland better, vote naw lose oil make Scotland bitter, vote aye remove bombs make Scotland safer, vote naw keep bombs increase the danger, vote aye spread wealth make Scotland fairer, vote naw heehaw but greedy behaviour, vote aye Jock Mackay make Scotland stronger, vote naw bugger aw but no for much longer, vote aye. Its all just swings and roundabouts

YES : When a young mother takes her daughter to the swing park for the first time, she looks around to see whos there, she makes sure its safe and then she starts her daughter off on something not too difficult, the swings perhaps. Then, depending on how happy and confident her little girl is, shell make an instinctual decision without even thinking about it as to whether they should move on to something slightly more difficult, like the roundabout for example. The main thing is they are here to enjoy themselves, have a great day out and spend some quality time together. These days are the days that help cement a lasting and loving relationship. NO: When a young mother takes her daughter to the swing park for the first time, there are always costs involved. She very rarely knows who will be in the park, or indeed who might suddenly appear later. Also, being a busy young mother, she might easily forget to bring a tape measure and therefore she cannot say with certainty that the swings are the correct height. All this uncertainty could easily have been avoided if the young mother simply stayed at home, as harsh as that may seem. In an article recently, it was discovered that roundabouts are the third most dangerous activity in these so called swing parks. Only a fool would enter into such an unstable situation. Thanks for making it to the end of my lengthy spiel, I dont apologise if Ive offended anyone with my collection of purposely one sided views on how I feel about independence. Being offensive is the least of my intentions. Well done for spotting any punctual or spelling errors. Im not a massive fan of politics and even if I was I wouldnt admit it. I dont believe or pay attention to polls. Im not interested in what the so called experts have to say. Ive tried and failed miserably to understand the view points of many people in favour of the current flawed set up in Westminster and can now barely bring myself to agree that anything they say is relevant or makes sense when comparing the two options. Independence is the only way forward for Scotland, vote with your heart and your head and vote yes.

Happy new year an aw the best for 2013.