Drums of Independence

A mix of bagpipe, drums, and Euro-style dance music. An uplifting approach to the question of Scottish Independence.

The question independence for Scotland has at least three answers: Yes, No, and Buggered if I know? It's no wonder that Scotland and its people remain, as yet, undecided. It's not the complexity of the question itself, for I daresay that most people will have an easy time expressing their passion for one direction or another. But it's the uncertainty of what either future structure will look like, how it will actually operate — or deteriorate.

Look at #Brexit. It doesn't matter which side of the fence you sit with that one, the handling of Brexit has been a total disaster. No blame-laying here. It's just a mess. And that political mess instills fear and doubt into the hearts and minds of those who feel genuinely passionate about either Brexit outcome. And so it is with the question of Scottish independence. Chaos, uncertainty, and fear.

Scotland has had a long history with England. Yes, some of it was bloody. But that was a long time ago. The most notable periods being during the 13th, 16th and 17th centuries. I read someone's sane comment recently that despite Scotland having forgiven the atrocities of Germany just 75 years ago, it seems to struggle to forgive England for their atrocities some 700 years ago. The takeaway from this is that times have changed. History is history, something to be learned from, but not lived by.

If the sabre-rattling of the romantics can be set aside for a moment, then the question is a simple one given that Brexit will take place. Does Scotland want to be part of the UK, or part of Europe, both politically and economically speaking. Where does the best future lie? Where are the best prospects? Who holds the best odds of success?

So I wrote a wee bagpipe tune. Not one with brooding notions of blood curdling historic savagery and unbridled patriotism. No, instead I injected some joy into the tune. Hopeful. Optimistic. A tune celebrating the question of independence, the opportunity to consider independence. It seemed logical, and a sane thing to do, to set this tune to some Euro-style techno dance music as Europe is now part of the question. Uplifting. No glib and superficial pomp and circumstance. And no depressing ballads of woe-betide-me from the highlands. I'll keep those for another day.

So grab your flag (or flags) of choice and wave them in celebration, and stomp your feet in time to the sound of the Drums of Independence.

P.S. Oddly enough, I read with interest an article published in the Scotsman today:

What kind of "family of nations" involves one member repeatedly ordering another around and telling them what they can and cannot do, asks Angus Robertson. Devolution turned 20 years old this week and the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh is firmly established at the heart of public life north of the Border.