Trying to figure out WTF is going on The nominally pro-independence political parties have stolen the word 'independence' to use as an electioneering slogan. They have hijacked the idea of independence to use as bait for gullible voters. They have folded Scotland's cause into their partisan rhetoric and drained it of meaning. They have cut away any part of our cause that their focus groups and special advisors tell them doesn't accord with what people want to hear. The empty suits have made an empty thing of our cause. A thing that is no more than an insubstantial veneer disguising the vacuousness beneath. They promise independence as a reward for giving them your vote in the same way as they promise more jobs and greater prosperity and anything else they are urged to promise if they want to be electable. Are our politicians famed for delivering the things they promise? Why believe they will deliver independence? It's not as if they are setting out a moderately detailed plan for restoring independence. Look behind the 'independence' slogan, and there is nothing. They are not saying vote for me and I will do this, this, and this and that way ensure Scotland's independence. They're just saying the word 'independence' as often as they can and with as much faux passion as they can muster. Ask them the 'What next?' question and the subject will quickly change. If you want a nominally pro-independence politician to stop talking about independence, as them to explain exactly how they intend to make it happen. Other than 'vote for me', they have nothing! To say that Scotland's political caste is a disappointment is to indulge in extraordinary understatement. Doubly so since 'independence' isn't even the issue. The immediate and urgent issue facing us is not independence, but the right of self-determination and the exercise thereof. But the real issue doesn't make for snappy slogans and TikTokable soundbites. Therefore, it isn't suited to the purposes of political parties and their candidates concerned exclusively with getting a slurp at the trough of elected office. Even if the politician is smart enough to realise that self-determination is the issue and not 'independence' per se, they won't talk about self-determination unless they are wrongly treating it as a synonym for independence - the easy slogan. All of this is a tragedy for Scotland's cause. We must turn the 2026 into a democratic even which serves that cause. But the political parties have no interest in that because it is at least one remove from their primary motivation of getting elected. there are two kinds of electioneering rhetoric. There's the stuff that is dumbed down to a level accessible by some crustaceans because the politicians think this is the optimum level for their massaging. Or there is the stuff that is buried under a mountain of 'information' and arcane argument in the reliable hope that most voters won't look to closely. The politicians have no interest in telling you the truth of Scotland's situation because that truth puts them in very bad light. It throws a spotlight on their past failures and makes their present positions on the constitutional issue look ridiculous. They are not going to tell you that Scotland's independence will only be restored by some form of UDI and that our only choice is whether we do it cleverly or stupidly. They won't tell you this because their own interests depend on them assuring the British state they won't break the rules at the same time as convincing us they will do something that cannot be done without breaking the rules. The solution to all of this lies in our hands. It is time to take Scotland's cause out of the hands of lying, self-serving, cowardly politicians. It is time for the independence movement to exert control. The political parties have hijacked our cause for their own purposes. We need to take it back. We need to recover what has been stolen from us. You're currently a free subscriber to Peter A Bell. For the full experience, upgrade your subscription.
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