Scotland

I'm disappointed (though not surprised) by the outcome of the Scottish Independence vote. I would've welcomed an independent Scotland and would've looked forward to moving back there. (That, by the way, is not an academic notion. My wife and kids are Scottish. We've lived in Scotland before and will do so again. It's not a matter of if, but just of when we make the move back.)

That disappointment aside, though, I'm pleased by two seemingly contradictory things. One is that the vote wasn't super close. It would've been hard to take if it had been a really narrow victory or loss.

The second is that I'm quite proud of Scotland. They just had a peaceful vote on their future, on a big issue unlike any most of us face at the ballot box. They turned out in massive numbers to have their say. And that 45% that said yes is actually really impressive. That's a lot of yes in the face of a lot of NO-inspired horror stories that were being rolled out on a daily basis, and of course it's harder to make a huge change than it is to stay the course.

All in all, it was an impressive showing, one that reminds me why Scotland is a country I love.