“Breathes there the man, with soul so dead
Who never to himself hath said
This is my own, my native land?
Whose heart has ne’er within him burned
As home his footsteps he has turned
From wandering on a foreign strand?”
Sir Walter’s familiar lines always make me feel a tad guilty, in that I love my country profoundly, do not believe my soul is dead, yet often enough (too often perhaps) pass critical judgements on its contemporary inanities.
It is beyond question that physically Scotland is uniquely blessed with some of the loveliest scenery in the world. The hilly verdant Borders, the wonderful interplay of sea, loch, mountain and glen in the incomparable West and Highlands, the romantic and varied offshore Islands, the wonderful Tayside, Speyside and Deeside landscapes ravish the eye. Even the Lowland industrial belt has its gems. Two great cities, Edinburgh and Glasgow, give the country European distinction and there are many fine aspects of Aberdeen, Dundee, Inverness and Perth. Truly the Scots are fortunate in their environment…… (That’s quite enough cliché-ridden shortbread-tin sentiment, before I end up wallowing in Burns, kilts and the skirl of pipes! Now, get real!)
The Scots are notably less fortunate in their climate, wetter and cloudier than that of England and, with the 1,850 annual hours of sunshine in none-too-balmy Southern England amazingly 65% more than the 1,200 in Northern Scotland, the Scots really need their cashmere woollies and Harris Tweed overcoats. Scarcity makes the Scottish sun particularly welcome though the rhododendrons still bloom and glistening grey granite enlivens the sadly few days of summer in Aberdeen, more typically enveloped in a damp North Sea haar. No wonder the Scots Diaspora to England and points South is so pronounced – it’s not the economy, stupid, it’s the chilblains.
If England and the United States are two countries separated by their common language, how much more so are England and Scotland. These days the most ubiquitous Scottish voice is that of the football manager and I am surprised the TV companies do not play their interviews with these gentlemen with sub-titles. A cacophonous salvo of illiterate gabbling streams from their mouths, punctuated by outrageous glottal-stops and gurning expressions. Luckily this is not typical Scots speech; the douce educated Edinburgh voice brings fastidious clarity to any company and even a heavily accented Glaswegian contributes vivacity and wild humour; indeed intelligent conversation is one of the great native joys, but too often the worst pushes out the best.
The Scots nation has a strong heritage. This is made up of a rich compound of a stirring, if convoluted history, an admirable respect for education, a distinctive Kirk and legal system, a prudent financial attitude, a cultural life of quality and a vigorous love of sport and the great outdoors. This heritage is beset by many threats in the modern world against which all Scots would do well to man the barricades. I will briefly discuss them in the above order.
History
History has created a tide of ever-closer links with prosperous England. Independence won at Bannockburn in 1314, the limits of this independence displayed at Flodden in 1513, the Union of the Crowns in 1603, the Union of the Parliaments in 1707, the political and social opportunities seized by Scots in Georgian and Victorian Britain and in the Empire, Scots in senior positions in the 3 main parties in the 20th century. All this quickly implodes with the devolving Scotland Act of 1998 establishing the Scots statelet. The much-vaunted political class, leaders like John Smith, Gordon Brown, Derry Irvine and Donald Dewar (not to mention the enfeebled Tories) showing a lack of political imagination and skill, instead jump on the chippy nationalist bandwagon. Be sure it is a leap in the dark, whose consequences could be very damaging: but the pass is sold and there is no point resurrecting old arguments.
The current signs are not encouraging; an SNP government led by a second-rate opportunist bribes a deluded electorate with the abolition of prescription charges and university tuition fees, to the chagrin of the English taxpayer who will inevitably sooner or later abandon the Barnett formula and sharply reduce Scotland’s revenues. A financial and maybe a constitutional crisis loom, pregnant with peril.
Education
The Scottish education system used to command great respect. The esteemed dominie was a prominent figure and it was obvious that the Scot was often better-read and had superior powers of application than his English brother. The tightly effective, if rather elitist, school system made this possible but the levelling spirit of the 1960s onwards overthrew this with its comprehensives, pupil rights and manipulated academic standards. Universities grew like asparagus in May; useful technical institutions became third-rate “Unies” with the entirely predictable result that Scottish universities have tumbled down the admittedly controversial world rankings. Edinburgh stands in 40th place – it was 20th – the only one in the top 100, with St Andrews (103rd), Glasgow (128th) and Aberdeen (149th) limping behind. As a small nation of 5m, Scotland needs to live on its brains and its centres of academic excellence should be better represented in the top 100. Education is being overhauled by the clear-thinking Michael Gove, and all strength to his elbow, but it is a Sisyphean labour in an age glorifying the lowest common denominator, that is to say, the moronic.
The Kirk and the Law
The Kirk and the Law are distinctive Scots institutions. The loss of faith is universal in Christendom, cannot be reversed and is itself a kind of blessing. But the Kirk was an ethical glue in society; remove even a primitive notion of conscience from some Scots and you are left with a dangerous feral beast. Such people are not likely attendees of humanist lectures: channelling their enthusiasm to worthy, moral causes is a challenge of our time.
Scots Law is an historic legacy worth protecting, not least for the institutions, scholarship and intellect it requires to support it in Edinburgh, whatever its doubtless considerable legal merits. Without the Law, Edinburgh would descend into a provincial backwater and one-size-fits-all English statutes will wreak havoc with our delicate social fabric.
Financial competence
At my school in Edinburgh, the ambition of at least 50% of the pupils was to become a chartered accountant (what a tragically cramped horizon for young spirits!). In any event Scotland is stiff with accountants, actuaries, bankers, fund managers and assorted bean-counters. This should bring the country some financial expertise and certainly historically Scotland has provided more than its share of successful bankers and men of business. This good record has been spoiled mightily in recent years. Where was vaunted Prudence when Scot Gordon Brown provided the UK on the eve of the financial crisis with the world’s 3rd worst deficit at 12.6% of GDP, only capped by Greece and Iceland?
More parochially, why did the Scottish Parliament Building cost £414m, at least 10 times its original budget? Why has the grossly mismanaged Edinburgh tramways project cost to date £714m, and still counting, against an earlier cost of £365m? The “private” sector is no better, as taxpayer-owned Royal Bank of Scotland reported a loss of £24bn for 2008 after a woeful saga of reckless acquisition and lending. The whole UK economy was endangered by RBS and yet heads have not rolled even if upward careers have been quietly blighted. The Establishment ever protects its own.
Culture
Although modern Scotland has never matched the golden age of Adam Smith, David Hume, James Boswell and the Adam brothers, it produces a respectable number of good novelists, historians and film directors, rather fewer dramatists or poets, but it does host the splendid Edinburgh Festival. There are plenty, in point of fact too many, competent actors, comedians and singers and certainly a surfeit of pop groups. Traditional tastes are catered for in bibulous Highland Gatherings and overall Scotland’s cultural heritage is safe.
Sport and the Great Outdoors
With its wide open spaces - 65 people per sq km in Scotland (only 9 in the Highlands) compared with 395 in England – Scotland remains an incomparable European playground. It was once a great foot-balling nation, but now ranks as 66th in the world. How the shades of George Young, Dave Mackay and Alan Gilzean will tremble! It is the home of golf and bred many early champions but since 1920 only two Scots have won the Open, and the Scotland rugby team torments more often than delights its fans. This decline can hardly be ascribed to some kind of national failure so I pass over it. The traditional expensive aristocratic pursuits of pheasant shooting and salmon fishing continue unabated although the image of deer-hunting has never quite overcome the alleged practice of the Ferrantis, machine-gunning from their helicopter! Easing public access to remote estates is a rare benign achievement of the devolved parliament.
Valete
My check-list of Scottish qualities and shortcomings is certainly invidious and arrogant, but it focuses on those matters which strike me as currently relevant to the eternal national debate. As a Scot in exile, I am alienated by the inward-looking attitude of contemporary Scotland. I value the social inclusiveness of the country, but also believe that standards are vital and that often the mild exercise of intellectual snobbery is a solemn duty in their defence. Scots need to play on a world stage, not to revert to the kale-yard. If failures result, let them be failures of ambition not mean-minded failures. In short, to adapt de Gaulle “Scotland cannot be Scotland without greatness”
I have criticised my country and some may judge with Sir Walter,
“The wretch, concentrated all in self,
Living, shall forfeit fair renown
And doubly dying, shall go down
To the vile dust from whence he sprung
Unwept, unhonoured and unsung!”
I hope for a kinder epitaph. Scotland awake!
SMD
14.4.11
Copyright Sidney Donald 2011
.
No comments:
Post a Comment