Scottish independence. Sounds impressive, right? It pushes our minds to imagine a place of power and individuality. A new perspective. But how close to reality could it be? Since independence became a priority, the desire for nationalism has reached fever pitch. For over 300 years Scotland has contributed to the triumph of Great Britain, but now, in a time of economic difficulty, there is an exorbitant need to break free. More and more people are starting to see self-government as a panacea for all of Scotland's economic dilemmas. This is something I distance myself from as realistically unfounded and unnecessary. Unity is power: in its understanding with the United Kingdom, Scotland is part of a stable, authoritative and influential alliance. If Scotland decides to become independent, it may lose its global presence apart from England. As part of the world's sixth largest economy, Scotland has a place to speak out and gain recognition. But this recognition and involvement could fade if Scotland went it alone, it would be overseen by larger economies and slowly but surely Scotland would lose its global importance. The credit crunch. This emerged as Scottish banks hit rock bottom. Banks had no choice but to write off large debts due to their reckless generosity towards people who were unable to repay their loans. This left the government with no choice but to tap into public money to stabilize the banking crisis, which in turn reduced our balance sheet by billions. So, as our tax dollars slipped out of our hands a little more vigorously than usual, little did we know that they wouldn't go toward education, housing, or improving our health care — but in fact, they were entirely invested to stabilize our banks. Just this... half of the paper... once independent would racism evolve between England and Scotland? This isolation of the two united countries could disrupt good relations and increase racism between the two. This could destroy any strong trade ties and future trade opportunities. More importantly, some Scots seem to reproach a negative attitude towards the English, so wouldn't splitting the two instigate more serious incidents of racism? The conclusion is, in fact, that Scotland has gained more power and sophistication as part of the United States. Kingdom, and we are blessed to be united as one, but we still possess our identity. This need to become independent is the result of Scotland's fierce nationalist pride, but in our current economic situation, a fantasy like this is not the way forward. More is money, and money is more. But this is enough to pursue a bright future?