Monday, June 16, 2014

Independence is Priceless

This fall, two of Europe's oldest nations, Scotland and Catalonia, will vote on whether or not they should become independent states.  Proponents of independence in both regions face heavy opposition from their respective national governments, big business and the rest of the member states that make up the European Union.  In fact, the Spanish government even refuses to recognize any sovereignty referendum in Catalonia as being valid.  So much for democracy.



Whether it's national governments, big business or the stiffs that run the E.U., the argument against independence for Scotland, Catalonia or any other distinct region of the world seeking self-determination is always pretty much the same.  More specifically, people in independence-seeking regions are always threatened with economic doom and political isolation if they opt to separate from the country in question.  If any of this sounds familiar to the folks in Canada who read this blog, I'm not surprised, because this same argument is used by Canadian federalists whenever the notion of a sovereign Quebec comes up.



It's not that this argument is incorrect.  In fact, Scotland, Catalonia, Quebec and any other region with a distinct population would find that having independence is very difficult, at least in the short run.  But should people not seek self-determination just because it might be difficult?  Absolutely not!

Self-Determination is Priceless

If you study the history of each of the world's nation-states, you would be hard-pressed to find any country that did not go through harsh times because they chose independence, especially in their early years.  In fact, if peoples around the world stopped wanting self-determination because they thought that it would be too difficult, almost none of today's nation-states would exist at all.  Just think, for example, if the Americans decided that they should not try to seek independence from the British Empire because doing so would mean grave consequences, and no I'm not talking about bad economic prospects.  I'm talking about facing the guns and soldiers of the strongest empire in the world at the time.

Fear of the consequences of independence didn't phase the founders of Israel either.  The Israelis, like the Americans, were outnumbered and outgunned.  They faced the armies of several Arab states.  But unlike the Americans, they also faced the threat of extermination for seeking independence on their own land.

Basically, what I'm saying is that if peoples are willing to go to war and risk death or even extinction so that they can achieve self-determination, then the threat of economic hard times and political consequences shouldn't seem so scary.

Short Term Pain for Long Term Gain

Yes, it's true that if peoples like the Scots, the Catalans and the Quebecois choose independence, they may go through some difficult times.  I know of very few countries whose early years were not beset by struggle of one kind or another.  But economic and political struggles are nothing compared to what some nation-states have had to go through in exchange for their freedom.

Indeed, freedom is something that isn't free at all.  It always comes with risk, challenges and sacrifices.  Whether or not a nation-state succeeds depends on how its people meet those risks and challenges and how willing they are to make sacrifices for their country to succeed.  At the end of the day, one can't put a price on a people's right to independence and self-determination, so whatever a people needs to do to gain and maintain their freedom is worth whatever consequences may come.     

  

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