Hysteria lesson?
I am pleased to hear that the Scottish Government is to introduce a more comprehensive Scottish history course to schools. No other European nation would have allowed this insidious practise to continue, where children were not taught the history and culture of their own country.
For generations Scotland’s history has been largely written out to conform with British history (English history with notes on other UK regions) and its imperial legacy. It has been neglected so Westminster could create a feeling of Britishness since the Union of 1707. This Union was pushed through, against the wishes of the vast majority of Scots, by a handful of corrupt aristocrats and landed gentry. Robert Burns succinctly summed it up in his poem, “Such a Parcel of Rogues in a Nation”.
Indeed, during the 18th century Scotland was referred to as North Britain and throughout the 19th century and most of the 20th, England was the preferred name for Britain at home and abroad. Only relatively recently, with the rise of Scotland’s independence movement, did Westminster and the BBC begin purposely using “Britain” or “the UK”.
Even after the recent definitive EU election results, the ruling elite in London cling to the trappings of an imperial past, floundering in a dark Brexit mirage, while Scotland
travels the clear, open road to independence. We wait with bated breath the outcome of the ludicrous contest between Johnson and Hunt for PM of a disintegrating United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland under the auspices of Uncle Donald!
GRANT FRAZER Cruachan, Newtonmore
For the first time I am feeling really scared and worried by developments in this country. I was not around at the declaration of the Second World War, but at least then, I guess, there was common purpose amongst statesmen and women. Right now it is like being on a bus heading for the cliff with no driver and a conductress assuring us that all is going to be so much better soon.
Two referenda with miniscule percentage “wins” by those who could be bothered to turn out to vote are leading us to where? Independence in Scotland seems to have no substance in financial facts, which consistently point to chaos and austerity if we cut ourselves off from our major trading partner. Who will pay for defence and diplomatic services, let alone education and healthcare? Brexit seems to have been mishandled from the moment David Cameron called his ill-advised referendum and negotiations began from a misguided assumption of weakness.
Those of us who voted for the Union and for Remaining seem to have no audible voice. Can someone of influence not raise the standard, present some real truths, and let us be heard clearly before irreperable damage is done? Politicians right now seem more involved with their own obsessions, advancement and dogma than they are in taking any responsibility for the country. I am truly scared.
DAVID GERRARD Spylaw Park. Edinburgh