In the next 24 hours, the fate of the country of my birth will be decided.
The people of Scotland go to the polls on Thursday to tick one of two little boxes, which will decide on a divorce from the UK and have a country to call their own for the first time since the 1707 Act of Union.
It’s an historic event, which has caught the attention of the world’s media.
The level of interest in the Scottish referendum has heightened even here in Richmond over the past few weeks and I don’t think a day has passed this month without someone asking me if Scotland should go it alone.
To be honest, my life is now in Canada and it’s not me who’ll have to deal with it on Friday morning if my fellow Scots vote yes and get what Mel Gibson didn’t in the historically inept Braveheart.
My knowledge of the pros and cons of independence is also ankle-deep at best, so any opinion I have is tempered with a clause to that effect. But the rest of this column would be decidedly vacant if I opted to sit on the fence.
First off, what way would I like the vote to sway?
Sitting here in the comfort of Canada, I’d love to vote yes and toast an independent Scotland in the early hours of Friday. But, as I said earlier, it’s not me who’ll have to pick up the pieces of “freedom.”
The pollsters have it neck and neck.
It’s so close that the “Better Together” no campaign last week dispatched English-born Tory Prime Minister David Cameron north to convince the Scots of the error of their ways.
Due to the disdain in which most things Conservative are held in Scotland, especially since the days of Margaret Thatcher, they would’ve been as well sending Edward the Longshanks (King of England who executed William Wallace in 1305).
Given that many Scots have shown the world they are “good with money” (although don’t believe the English joke that copper wire was invented by two Scotsmen fighting over a penny) and can invent things (steam engine, bike, TV, phone, etc. etc.) it’s safe to assume they have the mental capacity to weigh up the good and evil of breaking away.
The problem with the Scots is, the more you tell them they can’t stand on their own two feet, the more determined they’ll be to prove you wrong, even if it means cutting their nose off to spite their face.
At the end of the day, however, Scotland, I believe, is rich enough in its resources to stand alone — and I don’t mean oil and gas, which may only be good for a few more generations. I’m talking about its resilient, resourceful and intelligent people; its engineering technology and ingenuity, tourism and, of course, whisky exports.
For sure, the economic risks are plenty, as feared in giant neon lights by the UK government and many business leaders.
But no one really knows for sure how good or bad it could be. It’s a gamble and, for me, it’s all about whether Scotland today is willing to take that bet and make sacrifices for future generations. Will it happen? It’ll hinge on the estimated 15-20 per cent who’ve yet to choose.
If you haven’t decided your country’s fate by now, I’d wager you’ll tick no and stick with the devil you know. Which means, this time next week, I believe the Union Flag will remain intact.
It’s under that flag that, for more than 300 years, we’ve lived together, worked together and gone to war together.
I’d like to say we’ve hated each other on the sporting field, but the English have never understood why we cheer for any team they play against as fervently as we cheer Scotland, and I don’t think we even figure on their sporting radar.
It’s a chip on the shoulder we have from living in their shadow, blaming them for everything, even the weather.
If we vote yes, it’s a chip we’d have to brush off. Because, after Thursday, we’ll only have ourselves to blame.
Alan Campbell is a reporter with the Richmond News.
