Extremists on either side are not welcome in the Independence Referendum debate. Whichever way the vote goes, they will not help Scotland's future or reputation and with the eyes of the World now on us, this is the time to conduct a civilised debate and to show the world how democracy can work. And I hope some of the enthusiasm for politics carries on afterwards with people getting more involved and demanding answers from our politicians and business and industry leaders and councils and health services etc.
However to get back to the extremists, in some ways they make me hanker after the typical 30 to 40% turnout type elections where really only those who were interested would make it along to the polling stations! In places like Australia, voting is compulsory and you must place your mark on the polling card, even if it's to say you are undecided. However for this major decision for our country, it looks like we are going to have a very high turnout this time and everyone has an opinion. In fact I have detected various voting "species" evolving !
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| The evolution of Homo pressé pressé - poster at Carnac Museum, France ! |
Various species of voter are appearing from out of the undergrowth ! I hope you find my descriptions to be light-hearted as opposed to insulting.
We have the "
Negatum extremus" - this species will be voting No and has maybe only a few extreme reasons why, often inherited ! This species evolved a long time ago from "
Positum extremus" which is usually found on much higher ground and enjoys a colder climate ! The two no longer communicate and are fairly rare.
Then there is the "
Negatum robustus" and "
Positum robustus" - these are determined to vote in one way or the other, have possibly been in this state for some time and have perhaps decided based on two or three issues. There may also be an element of herd instinct where they adapt to their environment by surviving in a group and gaining strength and affirmation from that group.
Then there is the large group "
Negatum placidus" and "
Positum placidus" - these groups have decided, they have debated, discussed and have considered the opposite points of view. But based on some of the arguments they have made their minds up. They are willing to join discussions and are generally fairly easy going but have decided. They are fairly unlikely to change their groupings and move to another herd at this stage. And in fact 1,000,000 of the "
Positum placidus" have signed a pledge !
And then there is the very timid species "
Suffragium refusum" - this species has no intention of voting and is not interested and will hide in their house on 18th September .... actually this breed is pretty rare this time and is being actively hunted by the Yes campaign. I say good on the Yes campaign for their efforts to get this elusive species involved !!
(by the way perhaps I am just displaying my ignorance - I did not realise until writing this that the word Suffrage basically meant "to vote" in Latin, hence the suffragettes...who were fighting for not only the right to vote but the right to stand for election and to be represented democratically.)
However the most desirable beast that is hunted is the "
Mediatus quiero", that irritating species which just keeps on asking questions ! To which they want answers !! (see previous blog post !) This species is unwilling to settle in one place and is a more solitary being, often shunned by its peers !
I hope you enjoyed that ! And perhaps found it thought provoking as even if your mind is made up, I thought one of the most useful exercises I have heard was in a radio debate where they ask a Yes and a No politician to come up with an argument for the opposite side. Because really, we should all at least be able to understand the opposite point of view. We need to understand what it is we have rejected. And more importantly, after the vote we need to be able to get along together so it is a good idea to have at least considered these opposite points of view. And to keep involved after the vote, whether it is a Yes or No, so that we can all make a difference to our country and demand answers from our politicians.
