Be the change you want to see...

One of the things in the referendum campaign so far that really seems odd to me is the amount of debate about "How the SNP envisages and Independent Scotland".  There seems to be a presumption on the part of the Anti-Independence parties that the SNP somehow owns the idea of an Independent Scotland and therefore is not simply allowed a monopoly on what it will be, but must provide answers about this secret Scotland they have in mind because they are keeping things about it from the rest of us.

There's so many things wrong with that approach that it's difficult to know where to start.  I've heard it so many times and had it thrown at myself often enough, and it always strikes me as being completely back to front.  Of course, the anti-independence parties want us all to think that Independence is solely the hair-brained notion of the SNP.  They'd even like you to think that it's just Alec Salmond's idea if they can pin it on him, because then they can be ultra lazy and discredit Independence by discrediting Salmond.

So, you're busy with something at work one day and one of your workmates comes up to you, knowing of course that you are a supporter of Independence, and asks you "So, what's the point in becoming Independent just to go and join the EU?"

How do you answer this question?  If you find yourself justifying the policy, saying things like "The EU will be good for Scottish trade," or "Being in the EU gives us an automatic market for our oil," then without realising it, you are still playing the game the anti-independence parties have set up for us, conflating SNP policy with the Scotland's constitutional future.

In fact, if you find yourself justifying any stated SNP policy for post-independence you're doing the same.  Keeping the Queen as the head of state, retaining Sterling, not joining Nato (still SNP policy now, and I won't be surprised if it doesn't stay that way) and getting rid of Trident - these are all SNP policies, not things set in stone for the future of Scotland.  These things will form the core of the SNP's post-independence manifesto, but  we'll all get another chance to vote on that, and on the policies of the post-independence opposition parties.  If people don't like these policies, they can do what they've always done and vote accordingly.  Who knows how things are going to pan out afterwards.

We seem alarmingly prepared to acknowledge that the next two years are going to involve a lot of party political backstabbing and mudslinging to discredit the Independence debate.   Why are we prepared to accept such a closed political debate?  If the anti-independence parties manage to dictate the terms of the debate in this fashion, then it will not engage the already largely disaffected electorate.  Years of political scandal have taken their toll, many people feel that politicians are only in it for themselves and dwindling voter turnout stand as testament to the growing antipathy of voters towards politics. We cannot allow such an important democratic decision to fall foul of this unhealthy trend.  

Instead of becoming bogged down in party politics, why not ask people what kind of Scotland they would like to see instead?   Gently challenge them to think about what Independence could mean, and in doing so, invite them into the debate.  Too much of the story of the campaign so far is based around what the SNP, or Alec Salmond, would do with an Independent Scotland and this is drowning out the debate that needs to happen, in which every voice in Scotland needs to be heard.

We can sit around waiting for the anti-independence parties to allow the debate to become broader.  We can sit around and wait for the media in Scotland to become balanced.  We can sit around and wait for them to start playing fair, but really, can we guarantee that any of those things will actually happen?

Think about the flurry of negative press that the Independence debate has received recently by proxy of all the attacks on Alec Salmond. We are being forced onto the defensive by things which have nothing to do with the merits of the Independence case.  If this debate is to be treated like what it should be, then we must collectively take it upon ourselves to force this much needed shift.  Gandhi said, "Be the change you want to see in the world," and we should apply this here.

So, the next time someone engages you about what the SNP policy is for post-independence, ask them what they would like to see in an Independent Scotland.  Get them to consider what kind of Scotland they feel would be worth voting for, because this is  their chance to vote for a new kind of Scotland, and we cannot let people feel they are being left out of the debate by the politics of it.  If we allow it to be played along party political lines, a great many people will turn away, and even if the majority of engaged voters vote yes, Scotland will suffer from a democratic hangover on Independence day.