Why I'm voting no

I have written here before that I'm going to vote in this referendum, unlike some friends of mine who say that that's a matter for the Scots. What I didn't say was in what I was voting... Well, the title is very obvious.
There are many reasons why I'm voting no: some economic, some political, some even sociological... No, I don't think it will be the end of Scotland if it becomes independent, it will just be worse for the Scottish and the other British, but that doesn't really matter because the main reason why I vote no is an ideological one. I believe in a more cosmopolitan world instead of an increasingly divided one by ethnic, national or religious divides. And, as foreigner living in this country, I look at the United Kingdom with joy because it represents the very model of state I want to see all over the world.
The United Kingdom is a multi-national state that has been developing to become:
- a Democracy where all of its citizens, be them Scottish, English, Welsh or Northern Irish, have the same participatory rights, civil liberties and access to political positions (the ex-PM was Scottish, for example);
- a state under the rule of law with the same fundamental laws to all its composing entities but that still respects different legal traditions;
- a state that promotes the cultural and religious rights of its different nations and encourages its diversity.
Basically, a state where it doesn't really matter which of its components you come from. And this is what a cosmopolitan state should look like. Just compare it to what happens south of the channel. There you have a state that has been promoting a single French republican identity since the bloody French Revolution and where there is no space for regional and cultural differences.
A yes vote will tell the French they are right. It will tell them that the uniform citizen from Brest to Nice is a good thing. That if you allow your different nations to develop their differences, they'll end up splitting the state (with all the economic and political costs attached to it).
Well, I say "non" to the French republican ideal of a uniform citizen and I say "no" to the SNP's plan to destroy this United (diverse) Kingdom. I say yes to cosmopolitanism, therefore I vote no.

The Brits and EU

I really admire the British attitude towards the EU! Now, mind you, that what I admire is not exactly the Euro-scepticism, is more that British think about European problems. And, even better, when trying to come up with answers they regard EU with an extremely pragmatic view: they see the EU as a mean to favour UK and not as an end in itself.
Today Nick Clegg is in the Parliament answering questions posed by some more Euro-sceptic members of the governmental coalition parties. It is true that some of the suggestions of the Euro-sceptics of these Islands are quite absurd. To start with they tend to want all the benefits of a single market without its obligations considering that us, the other Europeans, would be more than willing to concede that. Also, they don't realize that a single market needs single market rules, otherwise in matters of environment, labour or tax, there will be a race to the bottom by the member states to make their products and services competitive.
But if some of the suggestions are absurd, others are quite obvious. Why are EU organs increasing their expenditure when many member states are facing budget cuts? This is a specially relevant question for the Euro-zone, given proposals to give Brussels budget supervisory powers over member states. Are the extremely detailed regulations really necessary to achieve a single market? Is the principle of subsidiarity to be forgotten? This question is an obvious one in a country that prides itself of its Democratic institutions and regards the growing interference of Brussels as weakening the power of Westminster.
To sum this up, the British do what few people in the "Continent" do: they discuss the EU, its objectives, policies, strengths, weaknesses, etc.. As in most discussions, there are a few bad ideas... But at least there are ideas.