Some of us have questions, concerns, complaints and serious doubts about what others are hailing as Nicola Sturgeon's brilliant 'plan' to take forward the fight to restore Scotland's independence. I would have hoped for better from Ruth Wishart than that she dismiss us and our misgivings with a smart-arse remark about being unable to "see … Continue reading Ceci n’est pas une fenêtre
Ruth Wishart mentions one "flaw" in the argument for a plebiscitary election as being "losing sight of other issues". It's unclear what she means by this as it could refer to the difficulty of losing sight of other issues so as to make it a single-issue vote or it could mean the problem of other … Continue reading A time to every purpose
If, as Ruth Wishart persuasively opines, Scotland's cause depends on "a massive communal effort on behalf of the Yes family" then I fear Scotland's cause is lost. Ruth refers to "real politik" [sic] and her analysis is steeped in that - until it comes to the conclusion. I see a lot of this. An argument … Continue reading Moving people
Few would disagree with Ruth Wishart's observation in her Sunday National column that "it's always a mistake to confuse social media with real life" but I have lately begun to suspect that the difference between the two may be rather less than it pleases us to suppose. Ruth goes on to allow that social media … Continue reading Social media and real life
Ruth Wishart adds her own plea for an end to squabbling within the independence movement to the seemingly endless list of other such futile efforts at refereeing the affray. The Believe in Scotland Facebook group threatens to eject anyone judged to be conducting "internecine warfare". There we have the two most common 'solutions' to the … Continue reading If only
If you are too shallow to appreciate that the catch-all term 'social media' encompasses the most democratic means of expression and communication ever to exist, only then will you use it as a catch-all term for obnoxious expression and hateful communication.
These two giants of Scottish politics divide the independence movement because each is a repository of hope. Hope is the common factor here. Desperate hope. Quite possibly delusional hope. Hope that is no more than a dully glowing ember. Hope that still burns with a bright flame. Hope for the dream that will never die - but which can all to easily be thwarted by disunity, disharmony and despair.
I have it on good authority that he UK and the US are two of the world's greatest democracies. The Greeks may have invented it, but it took the Brits and the Yanks to show them how democracy should be done.
It's easy enough for me to criticise Nicola Sturgeon's approach to the constitutional issue. I have neither position nor status in the SNP. I have nothing to lose by asking the awkward questions about the Scottish Government's strategy. I am free to think the unthinkable and say the things that many would prefer were left unsaid. My first loyalty is to Scotland's cause, not to any political party or leader.
Ruth Wishart asks, "does hesitancy now really help the cause?", and rightly concludes that it does not. But what of hesitancy's sibling, timidity? Ms Wishart neglects to ask whether or how the cause of restoring Scotland's might be served by approaching the project with anything less than total commitment and absolute determination. Having decided that … Continue reading Too timid to win?
Peter A Bell 