What does it mean to be Scottish today?
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I find this an increasingly hard question. At one time even the most Unionist Scots were fierce in their assertion of cultural identity but now the most Nationalist Scots are keen to embrace cultural diversity. On this site I’ve been told it is enough to simply be here. The expectation that those who grew up together would share a largely common identity no longer seems to be taken for granted. As someone who spent half his childhood outwith Scotland I often feel I missed some of the cultural transmission, or simply see differences with England as less wide than others do.
Who is “in” and who is “out” is not decided just by one side of the equation. While exclusion certainly exists there are those who wish to cling to their differences. When someone lives most of their life here but clings to their foreign nationality they clearly don’t want to take the final step. Divided identities proliferate. Multiple passports are held.
Religion persists as a factor in division and as a marker of identity. Even the distinguished historian Tom Devine finally fell back on his family Irish and Roman Catholic roots when deciding to vote for Independence. We have seen how the Israeli/ Palestinian conflict dangerously divides communities by religious affiliation
The last census showed a sharpening of attitudes on identity with Scottish only up.What I would like is tolerance(obviously) of those who want to be British in an Indy Scotland, but recognition that once chosen, no country goes back to the status quo- ante
What does ‘tolerance of those who want to be British in an indy Scotland’ mean Hugh? Genuine question.
What measures to not allow people to ‘be British’ do you imagine happening?
I am a scot by birth and ancestry. But i have lived in many countries and loved being with other cultures and relugions. To me; being a Scot today means being toletant and open to others. In my 84 years i have witnessed many other Scots ptractising that. I hope and believe we can advance that with Indy. We are different, but not better! We must resist “othering” of people who do not share our political belies and cultural sendibilities. Not all Scots are ready to accept that. Unfortinately,
I think this is rather avoiding the question. Accepting other people’s and cultures is fine but what makes yours distinctive enough to make you a Scot and not something else?
The idea of “our ain folk” is what we rely on when we face threats, a community, however imagined, that draws together in mutual aid and protection. If you cannot identify the community because identify is too diffuse then suggest you are vulnerable to those former in their self image. With the UK we are certainly becoming dubious about who would rally and who might grab their spare passport.
I am tempted to ask, ‘what do you mean, “what does it mean?”‘ It sounds facetious but given that you will undoubtedly get answers to the original question that are the opposite of each other and are unlikely to give any clearly understood sense of what it means to be Scottish, what is the question really asking? What ‘meaning’ is being sought, what is meaning when it comes to nationality? If you are asked, ‘what does it mean to be a human being?’ what would you say?