In the aftermath...

There may well be lessons to be learned from the Scottish referendum, but I think some people are seeing things that aren't there.  For starters, there's this theory that the referendum has "energised" or "incentivised" voters and that this enthusiasm will be carried forward to next year's general election.  I think not - you are trying to compare chalk and cheese.  It's one thing to be presented with a yes/no decision which will make an enormous difference to your immediate future, and quite another to have to make a choice between one set of politicians you don't really care that much about, and another set of politicians you don't really care that much about.  I can't see the turn-out at the general election being much different from usual.  The other is that the referendum proves that 16 and 17-year-olds can be trusted with the vote.  Well, does it?  It seems that the 16 and 17-year-olds voted something like 70-30 in favour of independence.  Could you not argue that this shows that they are too naïve and headstrong to be trusted to make important decisions?  Put it this way - would you really want to put your future in the hands of some 16-year-old?