MY ironing pile has become more of a Munro than a Corbett as I spend a significant amount of time working with local activists to spread a positive message about Scottish independence and Scotland’s place in Europe.
I am shocked by the way the mainstream media is behaving. As a former BBC journalist, I can see my former employer is not adhering to the same high editorial standards I was trained to. I see the importance of having fact-based, sourced materials available to people, presented in such a way folk can quickly and easily absorb the message.
I find this change disturbing. Journalists have an important job to do, holding power to account without fear or favour. More people feel they are being deceived.
I think the Yes movement has a part to play by providing trusted sources, through the ethical sharing of accurate and fair information, and am pleased to see that is a very widely held view within the movement.
Of course, it’s not just the head we need to engage with, it’s the heart too! I am passionate about Scotland’s right to choose our own path.
I lived in two former British colonies – Malaysia and Australia. People in those nations can’t understand what is stopping Scotland from choosing independence. Both were told they could not survive without the umbrella of empire. Indeed, the empire was so keen to hold on to Malaysia, stories still are told of relatives imprisoned, flogged, hanged for the crime of speaking out for independence.
British colonialists tried to erase Malaysian culture, replacing the language with English, the traditional clothes with western styles.
Sound familiar? Malaysia has been proudly independent for 50 years, its language and traditions re-established. We have many friends across the former colonies who wish Scotland well.
I accepted the result of the referendum in 2014, comforted by the fact we still were members of the EU. Two days after the Brexit referendum, in 2016, after much consideration, I decided to do everything I could to work for Scotland’s constitutional future as an independent European nation.
When knocking on doors and leafleting, I am struck by how many of the people supporting Brexit and Westminster rule seem to be a mix of angry and anxious but most of the Yessers I meet seem positive, optimistic, with a determination actively to be a part of Scotland’s future. I am heartened by this positivity.
I am proud to be a part of it.
Brexit means Scotland no longer can be both in the UK and the EU. On the day we “left”, I was part of a 12-hour vigil in Kirriemuir. I lit a candle for Europe. I will stand up for Scotland’s right to choose. I will stand up for Scotland’s place in Europe.
It’s time to make a choice. It’s time to choose Scotland. Independent. Equal. European.
Ruth Watson, 54, Kirriemuir
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