Next month, the Scots are going to vote on whether they remain in the UK. Americans have an image of Scotland as a combination of Groundskeeper Willy, Braveheart and Rob Roy, maybe playing golf in the rain. It is the image of rugged, independent men not yielding to anyone. The truth is nothing of the sort. The Scots are mostly broke men on the dole. Like the rest of the UK, they are a generation ahead of America in their march over the cliff. Voting for independence, therefore, seems like a clever joke.

By way of example, look at this story from the BBC.

The Scottish government has defended its controversial plan for a named guardian for every child in Scotland.

Speaking to the BBC, Children’s Minister Aileen Campbell said the policy would be rolled out across the country as planned in 2016.

She said it would help families in need and save taxpayers’ money.

Conservative MSP Gavin Brown said the policy would create a “giant bureaucracy” that would not help those most in need.

MSPs approved the Children and Young People Scotland Bill, which includes legislation to create a “named person” for every child in the country, in February.

The policy is already in place in a number of areas, including the Highlands, Edinburgh and Ayrshire, but is not due to be extended to the rest of Scotland until 2016.

The Scottish government has said the legislation would stop vulnerable children slipping through the net and give families a point of contact should they need assistance.

Earlier this month, ministers announced £40m in funding for 500 new health visitor posts to meet the demands of the policy, which will cover children from birth to the age of 18.

Midwives and senior teachers could also be named guardians, depending on the age of the child.

In case it is not clear, they are planning to assign a government minder to each child at birth.

Religious groups have raised concerns around the diminishing role of parents and the Christian Institute is preparing to mount a judicial review against the move.

The group has asked the Scottish government not to implement the “named person” element of the bill until the outcome of the legal action is known.

Speaking on the BBC’s Sunday Politics Scotland programme, Ms Campbell said the policy was supported by many organisations and would go ahead as planned since there was “no good reason” to delay.

She added: “This is about embedding good practice. We’ve seen [from pilots] that this reduces bureaucracy and allows professionals to intervene where families most at need require additional support. We’ve seen a reduction in inappropriate referrals to reporters – it saves money.

“The cost to the public purse of not doing these things is that problems escalate into crisis and that’s something we want to avoid. This supports parents and responds to what parents have told us they want.”

She said nothing in the legislation affected parents’ rights.

If you are wondering about those Christians, about 55% of Scots identify as Christian and about 40% claim to be irreligious or have no religion at all. The young are hardly religious and only 8% of the population attends weekly services. Those Christian groups have as much influence as Rastafarian groups.

Not that it matters. The Scots, like people all over the Occident, are throwing in the towel on civilization. The Scottish fertility rate is 1.7. More Scots die every year than are born and uncontrolled immigration will soon swamp the country in hostile foreigners. If you dig through the official figures, a country of 5 million is bringing in 250,000 foreigners each year. It is the foreign population having the babies. Simple math says the Scots are going the way of the dodo.