On the street, in restaurants, theaters, pubs and households, one subject dominates the conversation in Scotland: the upcoming independence referendum. It has sparked more political engagement among the Scottish people than has ever been seen before. It’s an issue that is dividing families and coming between friends.
On September 18, people who live in Scotland will decide whether we stay part of the United Kingdom or become an independent country.
The marriage of Scotland to England has its origins in the 1603 Union of the Crowns Act, when Queen Elizabeth I of England died without children and her closest descendant and nephew James VI of Scotland took on the additional mantle of James I of England. The Act of Union in 1707 then joined the countries under the same parliament, although Scotland maintained a separate legal system. Scots existed purely under Westminster until 1999, when a Scottish parliament opened in Edinburgh and Scotland gained the first platform of self-governance in 292 years. This parliament has authority over health care, education, justice, and agriculture.
But no matter the result of the vote, things in Scotland won’t be the same. Whatever the outcome, those in power will have to reconsider and implement changes to Scotland, whether that’s full independence or increased powers for Scottish parliament.
This is an exciting time to be in Scotland, and to be Scottish. The purpose of this article, written by two Scottish students at Harvard who support different outcomes, is to give Americans an understanding of the critical importance of this decision and a sense of the invigorating environment created by the excitement and fear of this impending decision. We are writing this article because we love Scotland. We have different perspectives of what is best for the best wee country in the world, and we want to share them with you.