Two cultured responses to Scottish independence
mainThe Harry Potter author J K Rowling today donated a million pounds to the Better Together campaign that seeks to persuade voters to reject independence in the September referendum.
The violinist Nicola Benedetti is releasing an album, titled ‘Homecoming – A Scottish Fantasy’. The title and timing cannot be a coincidence.
One artist’s response is pragmatic, the other romantic. Together they represent a dichotomy of head and heart that politicians are forcing voters to pull apart. It is an uncomfortable moment in British history.
Eh? Politicians are not forcing anything on anyone. The SNP exist to advance the case for Scottish independence, and they are in government in Holyrood because they won the election. They have a mandate to hold a referendum because that is how democracy works.
Nicola Benedetti has always presented herself as a Scottish artist so her 2014 album Homecoming – A Scottish Fantasy is entirely in keeping with about 10 years of career and image development. It is rather unfair to imply that she is being opportunistic.
If Benedetti’s album were timed to coincide with the referendum, then the timing is too early. Looks more likely it’s timed with the Commonwealth Games and then the Ryder Cup. And that would make more sense too as those event have some resonance internationally, but who outside the UK cares about the Scottish Referendum?