Fake Scots Titles

[macwilkin]

If someone else has posted this or similar already, and I have missed it, then my humblest apologies.

I am of the opinion that the Bard himself said it best, in one of the verses of "Is There For Honest Poverty"

Ye see yon birkie ca'd a lord,
Wha struts, an' stares, an' a' that;
Tho' hundreds worship at his word,
He's but a coof for a' that.
For a' that, an' a' that,
His ribband, star, an' a' that,
The man o' independent mind
He looks an' laughs at a' that.

True nobility is of the mind. There is sufficient evidence of centuries of in-breeding amongst the noble house of Europe, up through the early 20th Century, to warrant the end of all peerage, imho. Those of us "Yanks" whose forbears rebelled against the concept of the Divine Right of Kings and won their own and their descendants rights to forego such inanities would indeed "look and laugh at a' " this. Fine for the Scots and other Brits who feel they must uphold ancestral claims against others who were always trying to take it from them, in a battle-ready quid pro quo. Fine for those who wish to play the game. Fine, also for those fools with hubris enough to believe they can rally sufficient other fools to them to advance their cause by sheer force of number, threat, or nauseatingly protracted processes. Fine, also, for those who wish to pledge fealty and allegiance to a Chief or a Lairdie. As for me, Burns had it right, and in the words of the old Irish sergeant of the Maine regiment in the film Gettysburg "I damn ALL gentlemen." My Duncan forbears left the old country in the late 17th Century to escape the tyranny of the Stuart kings. Any who may have departed due to subsequent monarchs, up through German Geordie, were simply following in their footsteps. Swear allegiance to a Clan Chief? Give me damn good reason, and I may entertain the thought . . .

Not to be pedantic, but "we" didn't rebel against Divine Right in 1776; that idea was essentially removed from British politics with the Glorious Revolution in 1688. The acts of Parliament, not George III, caused the Revolution, although we tend to see only our side of the story. "German Geordie" was George I, btw, NOT George III, who was more of a Constitutional Monarch -- and keep in mind, the majority of Highlanders in North America in 1776 were loyal to him, because of a variety of reasons. While we like to think of the ex-Jacobites joining in the fray, religious and political differences caused many of them to fight as Loyalists or try to remain neutral, with many losing lands and property at the hands of rebel mobs.

Remember the history, but our mutual stand against the forces of totalitarianism back in 1941 erased much of the comments above, at least in my personal opinion.

Please do not speak for me as an American citizen; I have nothing but respect for the customs and traditions of the land where my ancestors resided, and wouldn't dare critcize them with a "we're better than you" attitude.

As I remember, there was no discussion of "swearing allegiance" to clan chiefs in this thread. Needless to say, I do not agree with your opinion, even though I do agree with your ability to express it.

T.