The Tartan Week parade in New York shows there’s nothing that some Scots politicians love more than a free jaunt at our expense.
First Minister John Swinney led the supposed charm offensive in the city that never sleeps, past the kind of crowds that a decent junior Scottish cup tie would attract.
With 3,500 marchers, those watching on the Big Apple sidewalks were in danger of being outnumbered by those who’d dusted off kilts hiding in their wardrobes since the last Burns supper.
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with having a deep pride in Scotland and letting others know what attractions we have.
But there’s scant evidence that this will bring back any benefits to Scots at home.
Already we’re enduring higher council taxes, as well as paying greater income tax than our neighbours over the border.
From what I can see, this self-serving back slapping affair serves little purpose other than collecting air miles for politicians who’ve long since run out of ideas of how to make Scotland a more prosperous place.
‘Did Alan Cumming miss protests in Scotland?’
In a supremely ironic moment the Perthshire actor Alan Cumming, cast as a Brigadoon-type character as the ‘grand marshal’ leading the parade, said it was “ironic” that New Yorkers were protesting against the US government when Scots were celebrating.
Perhaps he’s spent so much time in the States, where he lived for years, that he missed the protests outside Holyrood by women fighting to stop their rights being trampled on.
Maybe the fight to save jobs at Grangemouth as our last oil refinery shuts down, throwing hundreds of skilled workers on the dole, passed him by.
No mention either of the protests by staff at Dundee University fearful of their future after the calamitous running of the institution by management, who were also fond of first-class jaunts abroad at the expense of others.
It’s not that long ago that many of these same jet-setting politicians were insulting the current president of the US, Donald Trump, who no matter your views on him was democratically elected by more than 70 million Americans.
Trump critic Cumming announced that the festivities were a celebration of Scottish legacy, culture, and freedoms – “really what America is lacking these days.”
To waltz in and denigrate the US as he did was insulting to his hosts.
‘Luvvie left pontificating’
But he’s not alone in that desperate desire of some Scots, particularly on the supposedly progressive and luvvie left, to pontificate about the affairs of places abroad, while ignoring the multitude of growing problems in their own midden.
From insulting America to inveigling themselves in the complexities of Middle East politics with their potted historical Wikipedia knowledge of events, there’s no area off limits to their expertise.
They have the solutions for all the ills of the world, except the ones ailing us here at home.
You get the feeling that Scotland just isn’t big enough to contain their grand aspirations, so they must stride the global stage with their views, regardless of whether they’re asked for or wanted.
The first minister is on record as saying his mission is to eradicate child poverty in Scotland.
If I thought for a minute a parade in New York would go an inch towards achieving that aim, I’d happily back it.
But without solid evidence that these cosy, in-crowd pleasure trips bring any tangible benefits to Scotland, then not a dime of taxpayers’ money should be squandered on what looks more a charade than a parade.
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