What makes a Scot?

[beloitpiper]

But before all that, I'm a fiercely proud Texan and when someone asks what I am, that's my reply.

Haha, we have a saying here:

Wisconsinites: just as proud as Texans, twice as modest...

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

Sissy Spacek is a Texan. I love Sissy Spacek.

Sissy Spacek lives in Charlottesville, Virginia. Want her back?

[ccga3359]

She'd be more than welcome in Ontario .

[Bugbear]

I removed this because it didn't add to the discussion.

[Bryan]

She is also HRM Queen of Canada. Something from the Commonwealth of Nations agreement

I realize that, but why do you have to swear allegiance to her again is my question? Since you are an English citizen, aren't you already a subject of the crown?

[Bryan]

Wisconsinites: just as proud as Texans, twice as modest...

I love it!!!

[slohairt]

Some of the discussion here brings me back to a point I made earlier in a different thread. There is a great difference between the way the younger generation and the older generation of these countries (England, Scotland, Ireland, etc.) view their connection to New World folk. Here in Canada (I can't vouch for America), if you encounter an older person originally hailing from Scotland or Ireland you will invariably be asked what your ancestry is. (If it isn't immediately apparent.) If you simply tell them "I'm Canadian", they won't accept that as an answer! The connection between Mother Country and the colonies/dominions were much closer in their day.

[Makeitstop]

Meh, go far enough back we're all Africans anyway.

And according to carl sagan, if you go back far enough we're all actually aliens. And you know, I think he is onto something. Everyone once in a while you meet someone and you just have to say to yourself "there's no way that guy's not a freakin alien!"



You know, this conversation reminds me of an interview I saw not too long ago. It was some French journalist/philosopher who had toured America for years and then wrote a book about it.

When he was asked what his favorite part of American culture was, he said it was that to be an American was not a matter of birthright or blood, but of will. That anyone who came and chose to be a part of this nation could do so and would become an American, regardless of their race, ethnicity, national origin, or religion. That an Iranian, a Mexican or a Korean could all become Americans is a marvelous notion, and really sets the new world apart from the old.

Personally, I think that that's the way it ought to be. I do not claim to be a Scot, nor do I have an overwhelming desire to become one. But if I did so choose to I would hope that such an effort would be welcomed as a great compliment, rather than met with scorn or snobbery. I certainly would never want to belong to a culture that would exclude others simply for being born and raised elsewhere.

So I ask you guys, is it possible to become a Scot?

[Bugbear]

I removed this comment.

[Coemgen]

Ditto. I'm a Heinz 57 hyphenated American. It would be difficult to say that one part is predominant. However, both my mother and my paternal grandmother talked a great deal about their Scottish heritage and thus it became important to me and my siblings.

Ah yes, a fellow mutt! Myself, I can claim to be of Irish, English, Swiss, Prussian, Russian, German, Alsace, and Croat ancestry. Probably some Scottish, but we aren't sure.

But, when asked what I am, I answer that I am American.