Percentages Alone Can Be Deceiving, EH?* Where would the UK be without Scotland? Where would Scotland be without the UK? Would a sundering of the two not diminish them BOTH? There is the matter of nationalist pride, of course, but those who cling to it most come across more often than not as the type who is rather poorly adapted to the give and take of the modern, open world, where even nationalism seems to be losing sway. Do the UKs current Scottish Scots, under an independent Scotland, really wish to be led by the likes of a nationalist type? And if not, then would an independent Scotland not suffer massive brain drain (and not just in science and business, but in art and culture, and all the rest of it)? Sure, independence would mean that the Scots have 100% of the northern end of the isle which they share with the English and the Welsh farther south (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Countries_of_the_United_Kingdom). If we, for the sake of the argument, grant that the Welsh and the Irish of Northern Ireland constitute about 1/3 of the UKs influence, with England and Scotland sharing, roughly equally, the remaining 2/3 of the UKs influence, then one must ask oneself which of the following two options would likely yield the Scots the greater payoff (and remember: nationalist pride plus $1 will still only buy you a cup of PLAIN Starbucks coffee!): 100% of the stage that would represent an independent Scotlands influence, or 33% of the stage that represents the UKs influence? Percentages alone can be deceiving, EH? There is a long string of famous Scots who used Great Britains stage to very, very good purpose, and one naturally wonders whether those famous men and women (mainly men, probably mainly because history didnt accord women much of a place at the table of influence, until recent times) would have had equal success on a Scotland-only stage. For sure, Great Britains star has shone brighter because of them, but I leave it to you, dear Reader, to decide for yourself whether the famous Scots listed below would have reached the pinnacle they attained had they not enjoyed the inspiration that the rather large United Kingdom stage accorded them: Alexander Penicillin Fleming David Hume, philosopher Robert Burns, poet James Steam Engine Watt Adam Invisible Hand Smith Boswell, aide, biographer and confidant preeminent Robert Louis Stevenson, novelist, poet, essayist – AND MORE! Sir Hugh (Hew) Dalrymple, 1st Baronet of Bargeny, Lord North Berwick, & etc. Elsie Suffragette Inglis, MD King James Version VI (the English-language bibles counterpart to the Canon of Trent bible) Kenneth Wind in the Willows Graham Mary, Queen of Scots (Ahem, shall we pass on?) David I presume Livingstone Kirkpatrick Bicyclette Macmillan Sir Walter Scott, poet Sir Arthur Elementry, My Dear Watson Conan Doyle Sir James Vacuum Flask (think: Scotch whiskey) Dewar Joseph Quantitative Chemistry Black Robert the Bruce [Er, shall we pass on? : -)] Alexander Graham iPhone Bell Sir Alex Bend Beckham Ferguson J.K. Platform 9 3/4 Rowling Eric Henry Chariots of Fire Liddell Andy Murray, humble tennis player Sean Bond, James Bond Connery Jackie Formula One Stewart Tony Dodgy Dossier Blair John Boyd F1s Best Friend Dunlop Andrew Hall Carnegie Gordon Bye-Bye Brown Kenny Liverpool Legend Dalglish David Cat Burglar Niven Muriel The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie Spark Ewan Train Spotting McGregor Donovan Annie Woman of Many Parts Lennox Lulu (Does anyone besides me remember HER?) Alex Smiling Salmon Salmond, nationalist (Ahem, sorry bout that!) ) ) * Speaking of remembering, YOU DO REMEMBER, dear Reader, why I currently spell eh (and he-he) in caps only: Education Healthcare, the two subjects which, post World Cup, will again preoccupy the Brazilian man f/m on the street! ! ! !
Posted on: Fri, 11 Jul 2014 22:01:35 +0000
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