No, it's not bad grammar or a misprint. It's not meant to read "Whither Scotland?" It's a plain statement of fact. I'll elaborate. When the Unionists came bearing gifts of 'Government' a couple of years ago, many of us were minded of the ancient warning to beware of Greeks bearing gifts. A Parliament of our own? After 300 years of Unionist oppression, this had to sound like a good deal. It would have been, were it a real parliament, with real powers, in an independent Scotland. Instead, we were fobbed off with a mini-Westminster at Holyrood, an expensive talking shop with no real powers other than the ability to raise the Tartan Tax which the Unionists had paraded like the ghost of Banquo at every media opportunity. Every time the Scottish National Party made a gain, in fact. The contribution Scotland's oil was making to the English coffers was never mentioned - this was taken as England's due, our tribute to them as a colony. The truth was always distorted in favour of Unionism, as the Press is solidly controlled by them, no matter how the various English parties bleat about their portrayal in the media. Recent events have proved that our initial suspicions were not unfounded. After initial gains when the elections were held, and despite the fact that in certain areas of Scotland the British Unionist Labour Party were guaranteed to win the seat regardless of the calibre of their candidate, the SNP appeared to be on a roll. After all, devolution was a step towards Independence, wasn't it? Although the process might appear too gradual, it was at least a move in the intended direction. Or was it? Let's now look at the current situation. We have lost the leader of the party, a man who, although felt by many to be a bit sleekit and untrustworthy, had led the SNP to its highest point in all the years of struggle. A politician of today, with an ear for the sound-bite, and a solid grasp of economics sufficient to dumbfound any Unionist nay-sayer. Alex could debate with the best of them, and was even recognised by our Southern neighbours as a worthy adversary. So why, at the height of his powers, did he give it all away? What offer was made that he could not refuse? The same offer Willie MacRae rejected, to his ultimate cost? Whatever the truth, and rest assured it will be many years before we are told that, Alex Salmond retired to a quiet life on the back benches and the odd Bollywood film role... So a new leader was found. John Swinney was the choice of the Party and was duly elected. A gradualist, in every sense of the word - no passion, no fire, and above all - not a single mention of the 'I' word since his election. Independence is no longer on the agenda, in fact it now appears to be the word which no man (or woman) dares speak aloud. Roseanna Cunningham, once the fervent hope of all fundamentalists, was granted the back-up spot, and has been strangely silent ever since. Republican Rose has turned into a wallflower, and we have heard no talk of a Republic in months. Who got to you, Roseanna? The last two by-elections have not been fought on the issue on which we all voted for the Scottish National Party. Independence, it seems, is no longer an issue. The Scottish National Party has fallen into the honey trap set by the Unionists, and seem content to wallow in its mire. So what can be done - who do we vote for? No-one, it would appear. A vote for any English party is a vote for continuation of the hated Union. A vote for the SNP now appears to mean the same thing. So what is the point in voting for them? No votes means no party, no jobs for the quislings, no hope for the soul of Alba. So our advice, sadly, is - DON'T VOTE! Sink into the apathy for which we are nowadays famed. Read and believe the Unionist swill in the government controlled media; waste your brains on moronic garbage about London-centric soap opera stars and their pathetic non-lives (ring any bells there?); sit and stare at the box, with its "new British history" fantasies, unaware of the fact that this is the poison your children are being fed at school. In short, be BRITISH... And remember, as you die swamped by Anglo-Saxon revisionist garbage - that you did nothing to alter it. Return to Articles Index |
