From Kenny MacAskill, Aug 2009:
"In Scotland, we are a people who pride ourselves on our humanity.
"It is viewed as a defining characteristic of Scotland and the Scottish people.
"The perpetration of an atrocity and outrage cannot and should not be a basis for losing sight of who we are, the values we seek to uphold, and the faith and beliefs by which we seek to live.
From William Hague today:
"We must harness Britain's generosity and compassion to help the rest of the world"
Kenny was vilified by many, including Tories, for the former and his supposed claim that Scotland has a monopoly on compassion. Note that this is a separate issue to whether Megrahi being released was appropriate or not, it is focussing on whether our leaders should project a positive view of the nations they represent and the hypocrisy that can exist therein.
I look forward to William receiving the same derision that Kenny received.
Update - On a not entirely unrelated topic, this welcome post from Newsnet Scotland is well worth a read.
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6 comments:
It's one thing to send international aid to countries who have been hit by natural disaster.
It's another thing entirely to release a man found guilty of being a mass murderer.
I'd support the compassion of the first case. I certainly don't support the compassion shown in the second.
With respect Anon, the release of Megrahi is not what this post is about.
The actual decision itself has long been and gone and there's little point back and forthing on it now.
'defining characteristic'
spot it? That's the point where McAskill tried to claim Scots were different because we were, er, humane. He was claiming thatIf you were asked to describe a Scot, you'd say, oh, their humanity.
Hague is saying Britain is generous and compassionate. He isn't saying, 'and that makes us different'
That's the difference. MacAskill tried to wrap his decision up in humanity and went to far. It made those opposed gag. Does your selective quote from Hague do that? Assuming you oppose what he is suggesting, that we should help the millions stricken by floods so terrible we can hadly imagine them, that is.
My reading of McAskill's views were slightly different.
As far as I am concerned, McAskill was saying that the Scottish legal system differs from that of many countries because it has the option of compassionate release written into it. As it was the Scots who devised these laws, one could (surely?) presume that the Scots have had compassion for their fellow man more at the forefront of their minds and for longer.
As legal systems in many ways influence the behaviour of a nation, that nations interaction both with each other and the rest of the world, and the fact that these legal systems allow other nations a means of interpreting that nation, I think Kenny was spot on.
When others created their law system vengeance was clearly more prominent.
I know which system I prefer.
Humanity is viewed as a defining characteristic of Scotland and the Scottish people - probably largely due to Burns.
What do people all around the world sing at New Year? What does it represent when they all hold hands?
Or - to give a more modern example - why did the New York Times describe Jimmy Reid's Glasgow rectorial address as the greatest speech since the Gettysburg address?
Agreed, it is stretching it a wee bit to apply that particularly Scottish humanitarian outlook to the Megrahi decision but nevertheless it's a fair enough statement in itself.
I hope what William Hague has said now means the repugnant Douglas Murray will now take back his comments where he said Kenny McAskill and Alex Salmond were claiming to be "uniquely" compassionate (which of course neither of them actually said). It was wrong of Mr Murray to try and make that claim for his own anti-Scottish agenda.
Compassion is a virtue that is not unique to one country, one political party or one group of people but one that should be shared by all, and the world might just be a better place if there was a bit more of it going round.
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