The U.K. is currently abuzz with the issue of Scottish independence. The Scottish independence referendum will take place on Sept. 18 where Scots will vote to decide if they want to remain a part of the United Kingdom and continue to live under British rule.
Though us yanks have a close relationship with our English cousins, many of us might not really know what's going on with this controversial issue, or were even aware that it was happening at all. Luckily, we have John Oliver to clear a few things up for us.
During Sunday night's "Last Week Tonight With John Oliver," the titular host broke down the issue of Scottish independence for his (mostly) American audience. And who better to help us understand what's going on than Oliver, our resident late-night expert in all things British and who is, of course, British himself.
As Oliver points out, though most Americans think of Mel Gibson heading into battle as William Wallace in "Braveheart" when they hear the phrase "Scottish independence," it's actually a complex issue. England has treated Scotland pretty poorly since the two countries, along with Wales, became Great Britain in 1707. Some of the poor treatment includes banning kilts and including the lyrics, "Rebellious Scots to crush" in an English ditty. So watching a Brit explain why Scotland would want to secede from Great Britain was kind of awkward. But being the brilliant comedian that he is, Oliver is very self-aware of this fact, which makes for a hilarious 15-minute segment.
So here's what we all need to know in a nutshell. As with any issue, there's a side for (Yes Scotland) and a side against (Better Together) independence. The slogan for Better Together is "No Thanks," which Oliver says is so "violently British," it's "just one step away from, 'Oh, no. I couldn't possibly.'" Better Together also ran a pretty sexist commercial featuring a Scottish mother who basically said she doesn't have time to decide between voting "Yes" or "No," so she's just going to vote "No." Oliver barely has to make fun of this condescending spot.
Oliver also brought our attention to an old photo of British Prime Minister David Cameron in some "Downton Abbey"-esque coattails, the Loch Ness Monster's role as a possible tiebreaker and a sad clip of the Scottish flag falling off of a pole at 10 Downing Street, the location of the Prime Minister's office.
But Oliver knows that if you want to prevent anyone from leaving, a big romantic gesture is all you need. And what better place to draw inspiration from than some sappy British romantic comedies. So in order to beg Scotland to stay, Oliver eats some haggis, drinks some Scottish whisky, pets Scotland's national animal (which is awesomely a unicorn) and tolerates some bagpipe music. As a last resort, he even holds up some cue cards professing his undying adoration for Scotland a la Andrew Lincoln's character in "Love Actually."
Clearly, Oliver did a lot better job at attempting to woo Scotland than the Better Together coalition.
