I'm an American. My country fought its first war to split from the British Empire and its bloodiest war to remain intact. And we are obviously a democracy, but more specifically a constitutional and representative democracy. Ultimately the people have full power, but through a hard-to-amend constitution and elected representatives.
The UK has practical limits on democracy too. Its monarchy has become a purely ceremonial institution, but if democracy goes haywire, the Queen can steady the ship, as in the case of Juan Carlos in Spain.
It surprises me that Scotland is allowed the opportunity to break its union the the rest of the UK through a direct referendum. We wouldn't let Texas (once the Republic of Texas, and once part of Mexico) hold a vote on whether to leave the United States.
The British Empire has let go of territories all over the world in the name of national sovereignty. But isn't Scotland at the heart of the UK? Will Northern Ireland and Wales follow?
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