Huffing and Puffing

By Michael Greenwell

The United Kingdom, like all states, is an artificial construct. For some its symbol is the bulldog. The strange thing about the bulldog is that it would die out as a breed if left to its own devices. This is because their heads are so big that the vast majority of them have to be born by cesarean section. Therefore, because of its bigheadedness, it relies on a form of artificial selection to continue, and this makes it a great symbol for the UK.

The idea put forward by Harry Mulligan recently, that the Scottish people are being fed “ill-thought-out patriotism”, is exactly correct. However, the ill-thought-out patriotism that they are being fed is coming from those who would keep the UK as one state.

The fact that Scottish independence movement continues to exist and strengthen in the face of an overtly hostile media shows that the motives for it are not confined to a narrow patriotism.

Read the full piece at the Huffington Post here.