This quote feels very appropriate this morning!
It seems to me that a huge rock has been dropped into the sea that will cause global ripples but perhaps we focussed on the rock and forgot that a pebble can cause just as much change!
For most the pebble will be the tiny seed of doubt, the quiet, whispering voice of no confidence in our ability to make the right choices and perhaps the niggling thought that the X in the box should have been put elsewhere. For my fellow Scots, who voted REMAIN, you didn’t “lose”, what we did was to create doubt in the system that we have lived and allowed to govern us from afar for years.
What we need to do now is to focus on the word future, decide how we want the country we love to look like and work to ensure that decisions do not cause violent divisions amongst friends and communities.
In the last few days I have seen close friends falling out, valued colleagues worrying if they will lose their jobs and be sent “home” and so many people voicing regrets. We have watched the news and heard extremist, headline making reasons for voting LEAVE that appear to a lot of us to hold no real thought or consideration but, whether educated or not, everyone will have placed that X with some thought! Unless you can read minds, please remember that we all have freedom of choice and respecting that choice is key to a free, multi cultural society!
In my opinion the vote will have far reaching consequences for the UK as a whole, what is key now is that our knees don’t jerk in reaction. We need to ensure that calm, considered, educated decisions are made and that, particularly in Scotland, we do not see the resurgence of the “Braveheart” voter. This was a movie full of historical inaccuracies and it is vitally important that we do not base our decisions on the loud hailer rallying cries of tartan flying orators!
Read, research and make informed decisions my friends! I made mine a long time ago and stuck by my belief that the best, biggest, smallest country in the world can stand on its own two feet. For me, although I voted REMAIN, the LEAVE vote has quickened the likelyhood of independence for Scotland. So if there is a second independence referendum, to repeat that old chestnut, don’t be an empty vessel, fill your head with educated, informed facts. If you don’t know where to look ask, no question is ever daft and if your question goes unanswered keep going till you find one.
We are lucky to live in a society where we can vote in peace and freedom! Enjoy and respect this privilege!
G
All opinions are my own and images sourced from Google searches