A Scottish Reel

A little late with the weekly missive, but I wanted to await results on the Scottish referendum. Those results are now in, and I could not but recall a lyric from the song, Flower of Scotland, to wit:

"But we can still rise now
And be the nation again
That stood against him
Proud Edward's army
And sent him homeward
Tae think again."

As it turned out, the "thinking again" part will have to be done by the "Yes" side of the poll -- the latest results were (rounded off) 55% to 45% favouring remaining in the United Kingdom. Proud Edward had morphed into proud David Cameron, Prime Minister off the U.K., who was far from being "sent homeward".

If the result had been different, an unholy mess would have come about along the lines of a very messy divorce settlement, and the 'who gets what and why' become a dominating, if not the sole, issue for both parties. Moreover, the PM's career would have taken a plunge that would have been very difficult from which to recover. David Cameron is not Bill Clinton. So, on his part, a huge sigh of relief.

There still, of course, remains the "sticky wicket" of certain promises made to Scotland by Cameron involving changes to taxes, spending and welfare programs. The "Yes" side of the referendum, led by the head of the Scottish Nationalist Party, Alex Salmond, will I am certain be relentless in following up on those commitments. In addition, these commitments did not escape the attention of Wales, Northern Ireland and, indeed, England itself. When one plays with fire, even if one escapes being immolated completely, one still can get badly burned. Cameron's weeks ahead will not be entirely pleasant.

Then there is a point made by my mentor, whom I refer to as The Red Queen.

She points out that in terms of the process itself Scotland (and possibly Spain)  should learn from Canada's experience with Québec and put in place in any future referendum a two-thirds majority outcome, rather than a fifty/fifty split. All such a split indicates that there are just as many for independence as are against it, a recipe for long-standing discontent.

She is a very wise woman.

So there we are, and as for my own reaction, I am pleased, and turn to Robert Frost's poem, Mending Wall for my justification. Put simply, "Something there is that doesn't love a wall."