I recently visited Independence Hall in Philadelphia where the American Declaration of Independence was signed and the Constitution of the United States was drafted and executed. I'll be brief with my argument here--all progress in human civilization has come from the decentralization of power. The Roman Senate, The Magna Carta, the U.S. Constitution are all examples of where authority and information was distributed. When power is held in fewer hands, brokerage of that power occurs across a more narrow range of interests and humanity suffers. This has certainly been the case with the trend toward supra-sovereign organizations and treaties like NAFTA, the G7, and EU. Though their stated goals are ostensibly humanitarian, there is always an undercurrent of avarice and nepotism that reigns in policy. The most visible victims (for those who care to look) are nations like Greece, Argentina, and Azerbaijan.
The Founding Fathers of the USA understood something very important about the consolidation of power. It's bad, okay? Thus most of the time and furious debate over our fledgling Constitution centered not around what was considered Democratic or Republican (by today's standards). The debate that raged for years was over the distribution of power between the federal government and states' rights. Unfortunately, the U.S. has taken a strong turn back toward Federalism, which is the natural consequence of war-time crisis (Civil War, Great War, WWII, War on Korea, War on Poverty, War in Vietnam, War on Drugs, War on Iraq, War on Terror, war, war, war...). The average middle or working class person is always the loser.
What has the consolidation of power at the UK and EU brought Scotland? What has hard fought independence throughout history brought Scotland? The eyes of the world are upon you. Choose your independence and, like Iceland recently, you will find your own path. Your friends and distant clansmen the world over will support you. I personally will visit Scotland at long last and hopefully have a chance to meet some long time Nazareth fans and raise a glass to your independence.
Freeeeedom!
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