Scotland and then

Well, further to my recent angst and fears, the vote has been and gone
I don't buy into the "Scotland has spoken " crap, as the Scots themselves were put into a very difficult situation. In some regards it was an impossible one, with no truly right or wrong answer. Everyone wants free will, but at what cost, and with what back stops?
The speaking will go on, and rightly so, but it must also be said, that people are uncomfortable with change. Psychological studies reveal that caution is the mother of risk, meaning most people prefer not to gamble at all, rather than risk just a little. In this respect, a "No" outcome was perhaps foreseeable. There was to much to loose, rather than a lot to gain. That said the antipathy of the UK Parliament and the UK press over the past two years of the debate, almost made the outcome inevitable as no one South of the North seemed to care very much.
Then two years of apathy was concentrated into two weeks of panic, once the polls began to think the unthinkable. Whether the promises of those last two weeks will last for two hundred years or two minutes is impossible to predict.
But my own anxieties were more about England's loss than Scotland's gain as I've no doubt that Scotland would have made a fair fist of independence in a political sense. They would have needed fists too, given the battles ahead, with the EU, NATO, and alike. The issue that most concerned me their ability to fiscally manage an independent economy given some abysmal history in this area. Afterall it was the mismanagement of the economy over the colonial ambitions of Darian Gap adventure that bankrupted Scotland and led to the Act of Union. Given these historic facts, I was surprised to see so few references to them in the various debates that led to the vote. There was some talk on the recent misadventures of the RBS, but not the broader arguments on whether Scotland's historic track record on managing its national economy was a rightful concern. Then again has Westminster done any better for Scotland?
But more selfishly, I was concerned that if Scotland jumped, it would pull down he rest of the UK with it. In a "Prisoners Dilemma" scenario, we would all lose.
Thank goodness we do not need to contemplate the answer any more. I am glad the vote was No, as I see Scotland as a neighbour and partner in what, despite its many ills, is a vibrant and meaningful union
I just hope now that the Union will be renewed, and made modern for an improved and better purpose.