ABSTRACT

The argument is directed partly to Scotsmen themselves. The supporting argument, if there is one, can hardly rest on the principle that patriotism is always wrong – that no men have a right to love their country, to be proud of their traditions, or to seek to manage their own affairs. The English take a proper pride in their own patriotism and cannot reasonably deny a similar pride to others. The use of the word ‘unrealistic’ is itself suspicious. Even Scottish candidates for Parliament, when asked why they oppose Home Rule for Scotland, have been known to reply that they don’t believe in divorce or that they don’t want to go back to the ‘black houses’ of the Highlands. A purist may argue that it is anomalous and illogical to allow federal rights to some parts of a country unless a federal system is extended to the country as a whole.