A Voice for Scotland's Anti-Nationalist Majority3 articles
After 17 years of SNP rule, support for Scexit would appear to be finally on the decline. A recent opinion poll ranked Scexit as only the 7th (18%) most important topic that would decide voting intention at the next General Election. Way out in front was the economy on 64%. This must be gut-wrenching news for independence supporters: 17 years in power and zero progress made in convincing Scots to vote for Independence.
It’s said that before a tsunami strikes there are major warning signs to look out for that should alert the public to the forthcoming catastrophe. Warning signs such as an earthquake at sea, or the tide suddenly going out, are usually enough to galvanise the inhabitants of neighbouring coastal towns to immediately head for the high ground.
Political tsunamis have striking similarities to the real thing. For example, there were many early warning signs before the 2015 General Election that alerted all pro-UK parties in Scotland to the very real possibility that they were going to be swept away by a gigantic nationalist tidal wave.
It is often said in these post-truth times, that a lie has gone half-way around the world before the truth has put its boots on. Why do lies, fake news and misinformation gain so much more political traction than evidence-based facts? The answer to that question can be found in the world of tribal epistemology.
In 2017, David Roberts of Vox news coined the term ‘tribal epistemology’ to describe a state of mind ’where you believe not what facts or reason or top experts say is true, but what your group or tribe say is true, especially its leaders’. Why bother going to all the effort of seeking the truth out for yourself, when you can hand that time-consuming, tedious task to someone in power, who you believe in and trust and then agree unquestioningly with whatever their version of the truth is instead? But, what if those leaders don’t go to the trouble of seeking out the truth. What if they abuse your trust and lie, would you still believe them because you are one of their tribe?