Father's Day

I have refrained from posting endless amounts of comments with my thoughts on the upcoming Scottish Independance referendum. Sure I’ve commented in passing here and there but I haven't shared the multitude of scaremongering posts from the No campaigners or the perhaps overly patriotic Yes campaign. That said I made my choice long ago and regardless of the outcome, change needs to happen whether it's as a whole the United Kingdom or as an Independant Scotland the country has gotten to the point where many things need changed before the existing system completely collapses.


My Dad was a very patriotic man, perhaps overly so and I didn't ever understand it growing up. Perhaps the result of a lot of resentment for being forced to listen to too much bagpipe music or The Corries in the car when he drove us places, or with the insane number of castles or battlefields in the highlands that I was dragged around regardless of the weather. I probably became somewhat disillusioned with the notion of patriotism because of all of that, but a part of me was always proud to be Scottish. Scotland as a nation has a proud heritage of innovating inventions, pioneering advancements in science from the very beginning to the present day. As both a Scot and a scientist I am extremely proud of these achievements of our nation, so I guess some of the patriotism stuck after all!


So why have I refrained from commenting on the referendum quite as vocally as others, because the vote takes place on the anniversary of my Dad's death.


My Dad died on the 18^th of September 2007 and the day they announced that the vote would take place on that day my heart both sank and swelled with pride. If my Dad was alive today he would have been marching on the side of the Yes campaign and quoting the Declaration of Arbroath at any given opportunity (something he did so regularly as I grew up that it's ingrained in my brain for all eternity) and I would have loved to have seen him do all that, even if I did spend most of my days rolling my eyes at it. I know my Dad would be very proud to share “his day” with the possible start of a new independent Scotland and that when the day came I would be proud to stand up and cast my vote in his place, not because I felt obligated to fulfil his wishes but because I had come to realise that he wasn't all that ridiculous after all.


So yes, I will be voting Yes on the 18^th of September and if that is the majority then I hope it is the start of something magnificent, that our great and proud nation can soar even higher if given the chance to change for the better. We've done so much in the past, we can do even more in the future and I can't wait to see what exciting adventures that might bring. If however the vote rules in favour of the No campaign then I hope they have the grace and humility to continue to move Scotland forward as a nation and not resort to even more cruel and unnecessary bullying of those who don't agree with them.


For some of us, the 18^th of September is a much larger day in our lives than this vote and I am scared for the future, that the results of the vote may result in a day that already means so much to me and what little family I have left being turned into nothing more than a cruel joke that mocks the man we mourn on that day. So whilst I respect that my friends have to make their own choice on this day and I won't judge them for making a different choice from me, I hope they understand and respect that I have a whole lot more riding on it than most.


I wish you were here to see this Dad, 

Happy Father's Day.