My Journey to Yes

I have tears in my eyes. Tomorrow I’ll make one of the biggest and most important choices I’ll ever make. With this choice, this vote, I have the chance to change the country that I live in. To change it for the better. I have the chance to help make it a safer, fairer, and more prosperous place for generations to come. For my children, if I’m ever lucky enough to have some. When I cast my vote I’ll be doing so in the hope that I can wake up in a world where I feel optimistic about the future – instead of one where a sense of defeat or even dread is the norm; afraid of what another government I didn’t vote for is going to do to its people. People it clearly doesn’t understand. My vote for Yes is a vote for hope. For change. For a chance at a better world because whatever happens, wouldn’t we be fools not to take a shot at making things better? It’s a huge decision. The world is watching us to see if we’re about to make history.

But that’s not why I’m greetin’. I’m not overwhelmed at the enormity of the situation or the power that we have (real power, by the way, for the first time in a long time). It’s because this journey has been one of the greatest things that I’ll ever be a part of and it’s nearly over. I’m honoured to have worked with people like National Collective, Yes Scotland, and Radical Independence. These are hard-working, dedicated, tireless, and inspirational people. I’m so, so grateful for the chance to have been a part of this amazing Journey to Yes.

Because that’s what the past two years have been to me. See, I’ve been Yes since before the question was there. Since I was a wee boy and I referred to Margaret Thatcher as “the bad lady”. Since I heard the explanation that Tories were a party dedicated to looking after the rich and have never seen a damn thing to refute it. Since I learned about the UCS work-in and realised that incredible things are possible. Since I first read the words of Jimmy Reid. Since I realised that we are trapped in a system where we either help deliver a Labour government (something they rely on, which has allowed them to move further away from the left) or we get a Tory government we didn’t vote for.

So my journey to yes isn’t a metaphor for how I arrived at the decision. I’m living my journey to yes.  At every rally, every gig, every debate with friends, strangers, colleagues. Every tweet that I tag #indyref. Every time I’m inspired by the amazing people around me. For me it’s the journey to the day that we vote to achieve our independence. The journey as I’ve known it is about to end. A new one is about to begin. We’re so close. Vote Yes.

Photo courtesy of Clair Donachie / Documenting Yes