'Loose Talk'
By Benjamin Benedict

Separate Tables

“I vant to be alone,” was Greta Garbo’s famous wish, but she was more than just ‘a separatist’. Separatists wish to be separate, but not alone, and in principle, it seems to me that their wishes should be granted assuming that they represent a clear majority of the group in question.

Classic films and stories such as ‘Passport to Pimlico’ and ‘The Napoleon of Notting Hill’ have long pointed out the potential folly of such separatist aspirations. Also, there is no finality attached to the separatist cause. A referendum on the issue of independence might well be held and the majority might well vote for it, only to change their minds a couple of years later.

When politicians talk about ‘the sovereignty’ of a nation, they are talking so much nonsense. Over the years, nations have been changing their shape and constitution with the relentless inevitability of a chameleon changing colour. Only the name stays the same, and not always that.

However, one thing that I have noticed in the current Georgian dilemma is that neither the pro-separatist camp, nor the anti lobby have at any time claimed to represent the majority of the people in the affected (afflicted?) areas. I would be a lot more impressed if the people concerned were consulted in an open, objective fashion. This could provide a starting point from which to resolve any lack of representation that could be seen to exist, rather than provide a pulpit for the grandiose posturing of the Super Powers.

It is time that nations are seen for what they are; man-made constructs primarily placed there to control their inhabitants. All the instincts of tribal loyalty are called upon to support the construct, shored up by such notions as ‘tradition’, ‘heritage’, and ‘the constitution’.

In Europe, the politicians are trying to ignore the fact that the population don’t want the larger political framework that is being foisted upon them, and in Scotland we have the ruling political party demanding autonomy from the rest of the UK, although whether the Scots themselves want it, is far from clear. These are two very different types of separatism, one swept under the carpet by the European bureaucracy, the other legitimised but with no substantiated mandate on the separatist issue itself. 

Separatists can be very dangerous people, particularly those who in no way relate their wish to any kind of democratic notion. This breed of separatist is very likely to link itself to a larger outside entity, and have highly suspect motives. Such people are simply power seekers, using separatism as a front. 

At the end of the day, what should be important are the people’s wishes, not those of any particular party or group, or the so-called ‘sovereignty’ of any nation. As long as we allow these matters to be dealt with without specific reference to the people involved, we cannot expect a long-term solution of any kind. There will be patches put over the wound, but no healing of the wound itself.

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