Getting away Scot-free? Far from a Loch.

Freedom is kinda a big deal. If you think about national heroes, people who show up on currency, they are probably around 15% scientists or brilliant thinkers, 5% athletes, and 80% leaders who either brought about the independence movement or expanded the country while in power. Immortalized heroes have gone on hunger strikes, marches, guerrilla warfare and been tortured, executed or assassinated in the name of freedom. And now Scotland is getting a chance to vote on it, because they’re tired of dealing with shit from the English. And here, freedom is still a big deal. It has huge effects on Scotland’s healthcare system, national security, natural resources and currency, not to mention national pride. But amazingly, this has so much comedic value, so much more than any national movement has ever had before, besides perhaps the establishment of the nation of Sealand. There was a comedic event at Edinburgh called “The Referendum.” I doubt there was anything of the sort in South Sudan. Most national movements involve long periods of struggle and oppression, but whatever gripes the Scottish currently have against London rule, they are not currently oppressed. Yes there have been centuries of tension and some second guessing since King James became simultaneous King of Scotland and England, but Scots have been a firmly engrained part of the United Kingdom with nary a riot for some time now.

This is not a conflict zone

I hesitate to get into this topic because I’ve spent all of 2 days of my life in Scotland and have about 5 Scottish friends. So let’s avoid the complicated political issues and get into the interesting/funny parts.

• Scots who are living abroad are not allowed to vote. Non-Scots who legally reside in Scotland and are citizens of EU or Commonwealth nations are allowed to vote. This means that Polish and Indian immigrants to Scotland are deciding on whether Scotland remains in the UK, but Scots living in London do not. Coming from America and our brutal green card hurdles and our absentee balloting, this is mind boggling to me.
• The Scottish currency situation should it go independent is not determined. This seems to me gross incompetence. London is saying that they won’t let Scotland stay in currency union with the pound, but that could be a scare tactic as it seems to be the best issue for both sides.
• Scotland could still use the pound anyway. If so, the land that produced Adam Smith will join the likes of Central African Republic, Monaco, El Salvador, and Gabon as nations who do not control their own currency.
• Scotland could be forced to use the Euro as a condition for entering the EU.
• Scotland could use their own currency, which is always fun, especially coming up with names. That’ll be 5 Haggis please.
• Scotland has a model and also serves as a model. Just across the straits lies the Republic of Ireland, a former part of the United Kingdom and successfully independent nation using the Euro. It’s very possible to have multiple nations and even borders in the British Isles. Meanwhile Wales in particular will be watching how Scotland votes and fares. There’s less incentive to leave the powerful UK when you are as small as Wales, and ditch your main vowel importer to boot, but Welsh people actually still speak their national language and have plenty of national pride.
• The national animal of Scotland is a unicorn.
• The Scottish Parliament First Minister is named Salmond and Deputy First Minister is named Sturgeon. Could we have a fishier 1-2?
• Lottery winners contributed 3.5 million of the 4.5 million pounds that the Yes Scotland campaign has received. To me, this fundraising is surprisingly low. But I think that this shows how the vote is more about pride and less about money.
• The amazing thing is that this won't actually change all that much. Sccotland already has a lot of autonomy. This includes their own education system able to provide reduced tuition for Scottish students at Scottish universities and their own football team that has qualified for several World Cups.

For me, this whole process is just utterly fascinating. Scottish Independence movement cuts across many political factions. You'd have to be an expert to fully understand the currency and legal implications of the separation, but anyone can still feel profoundly affected by the decision. Nationhood! It arguably has less effect on the welfare of citizens than say a Presidential election would - after all the leadership of the Scottish Parliament isn't changing -  but it gets more people animated and talking.

What nation am I in??

So many places would love to be able to vote on their independence. I live in one of these places. This Scottish vote comes only a month after Beijing basically told Hong Kong that it will never really be independent or democratic. Coincidentally, Hong Kongers would probably welcome a vote on whether to join the United Kingdom. It's by no means a consensus, but has been a fun speculative question to ask around these past few weeks. It's been interesting for me living here in a place with a compromised identity, debating the ideals of freedom versus the impracticalities of a mandatory national service. It is not a simple question, but for many Hong Kongers, it's never been a question truly worth investigating because the option simply won't present itself. For Scotland, amazingly the option is present.