A State Of Independence From Catalonia To Yorkshire
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Recently over 2 million people in the Spanish province of Catalonia voted for independence from Spain. The Spanish government stated the referendum was illegal as, indeed, under Spanish law, it was. Spanish police then charged into the polling booths dressed in extremely fashionable para-military attire, bashed old women and anyone within reach of their batons around the head and dragged them out of the polling booths by their hair or whichever part of their anatomy was most convenient.
Shortly afterwards the Spanish government, after insisting that as the Catalan referendum was illegal they were quite right to try and stop it, realized that they needed to appoint a different PR person who didn’t think that bashing old ladies around the head was good for Spain’s image.
The Catalonian President or Prime Minister or whatever he is then signed an independence document but decided, at least until the elderly ladies had recovered, not to enforce it and suggested politely that, perhaps, the Spanish government might sit around a table and talk, preferably without the accompaniment of paramilitary baton wielding police officers.
Now does this all really matter to you or me or, frankly, anyone who isn’t Spanish or Catalonian?
Yes. It does.
Increasingly people are just fed up to the back teeth with politicians. I suspect that’s how Trump managed to get elected. I doubt that many people actually wanted Trump, they just didn’t want Clinton or, come to that, anyone tarnished with being ‘of’ the political elite.
Can’t say I blame them either – albeit Trump was a bit too much of a protest vote if you ask me. Still. Perhaps, although I won’t hold my breath, American politicians will actually realize you don’t trust them, don’t like them and would rather they would just go away and let some sensible people have a go.
Unfortunately all the sensible people were watching baseball or something so Trump sneaked in instead.
The Catalans in Spain are clearly pretty fed up with the Spanish government. That’s why they voted for independence.
It has to be said, whilst the Spanish constitution doesn’t cater for such a vote, Catalan was, in fact, an independent nation a long long long time ago. Well, that’s what I heard on TV so it must be true.
Scotland, over here in Blighty, had an independence referendum as well not that long ago. It was a bit different to the Catalan one though as no para-military police bashed old ladies on the head – although I did hear of a rather uncomfortable assault on a ‘No’ voter with a haggis.
Scotland voted against independence but, I suspect, another referendum will happen eventually.
They’ll vote ‘No’ again certainly – unless the English are allowed to join in in which case Scotland will be independent before they can say ‘Och the noo’ – which, I am led to believe, the Scots sometimes say for some unfathomable reason. Probably comes from deep frying chocolate bars or something. (They do you know. Deep fry Mars Bars. Weird)
As a northern Englishman I actually have some sympathy with the Scots desire for independence.
Sadly, Lancashire, Yorkshire, Cumbria and Northumberland are counties of the north of England rather than former independent nations so independence isn’t really an option.
Mind you, that hasn’t stopped Yorkshire suggesting it deserves more autonomy from the British government in London. Good for them I say!
The most violent attempt to gain independence in Blighty is, of course, the IRA trying to make Northern Ireland part of a united Ireland.
It didn’t work of course. Let’s face it, getting funding from some idiots in America and then blowing up people in public houses was hardly likely to be a road to getting what you wanted. I know some of the food in pubs is pretty dreadful but blowing the things up with people in them already terrified at the prospect of eating a stale meat pie was definitely a bad move.
What is it then? This desire for independence? A desire so strong that all reason evaporates and the cause of independence is everything regardless of whether it’s a dumb idea.
Take Scotland for example.
If Scotland had actually voted for independence it would have been entirely dependent on oil revenue from the North Sea. Oil that will run out at some point. Oil that has devalued in price.
Without a shadow of a doubt Scotland would have been bankrupt in no time and yet the Scottish National Party still insist that they want independence.
Britain as a whole is at it too of course. Brexit is a vote for independence from The European Union.
I wonder whether this is all some kind of backlash against the politics of the day?
Career politicians who wouldn’t know reality if it bit them on the backside. ‘Big’ government such as the EU completely out of touch with reality. A political elite who have, one way or another, governed extremely badly for ever.
I like this idea of independence.
In fact, I like it so much I intend to ballot everyone in my house and, if we both vote ‘Yes’, I intend to advise the British government that, as of the closing of the ballot box, my house will henceforth be independent of central government and will be an independent nation.
My nation will be known as Bammy Land. Beer will be free as will vodka.
I will apply for membership of The United Nations. I will pay taxes to myself. I will be a free democracy and hold elections every three years after which either my wife or I will be Prime Minister – I suspect it will be my wife as the prospect of having me in charge even worries me.
I could actually do it too. Britain wouldn’t send in fashionably dressed para-military police with huge batons. They might, I suppose, send in men in white coats with straight jackets and a stick to put between my teeth but I’ll take that chance for independence!
The Spanish government could learn from me you know.
I believe they are looking to hire a new PR person. Right. I’m off to let them know I am available at a very reasonable salary.
Mind you, when my house becomes an independent country I would like to state right from the start. There will be no immigration what so ever. My infrastructure of two bedrooms, one bathroom and a small spare room couldn’t cope.
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Big government gets noticed more. Here the local corruption seems to go largely unnoticed or too easily covered up. And local politicians are cheaper to buy.
T’was always so old bean. Mind you, since the horror of Grenfell Tower local government is under the microscope in Blighty – and a good thing too!!
There’s a tired old American Cliche – perhaps you have it too: All politics is local. I’ve never known just what that meant, but perhaps it applies to the widespread desire to make every Middlesex, village and farm a separate nation. Here, that includes Texas and Alaska and California, but how much of it is local?
So much of it smells of borscht. If it isn’t the harbinger of Russian annexation, it still helps them regain their influence by diminishing ours. The Revolutionary (American) quip that we need to hang together or we will hang separately as well as the naive slogan “e pluribus unum” are definitely out of date. Everyone in everyone else’s face.
I think it’s this understandable sense that the bigger the government the more corrupt and incompetent they are…and have often always been.
Either the politicians change dramatically to regain our trust or, I suspect, the west will diminish greatly by simply diminishing the size of government one way or another.
Then we’ll be easy pickings.
The future becomes infinitely more fascinating and frightening in equal measure.