Sir,- Robert Canning of the Scottish Secular Society (SSS) (letters, October 3) declares that while it tolerates parents being allowed to educate their children according to their beliefs, it objects to the state paying for such education.
While I appreciate their tolerance of the rich being able to do what they want, my concern is with the poor.
Such restriction of choice is in direct contravention of article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which declares “parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children”, and that “everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages”.
The SSS position is also against the European Protocol on Human Rights, article 2, which states “No person shall be denied the right to education. In the exercise of any functions which it assumes in relation to eduction and training, the state shall respect the right of parents to ensure such education and teaching in conformity with their own religious and philosophical convictions”.
It is more than a little disturbing that the tiny SSS does not support this basic legal human right and instead seeks to use the education system to impose its politics, philosophy and ethos upon all of us.
As regards their creationism petition, Mr Canning has a strange definition of “success”.
The SSS offered not one shred of evidence that creationism was being taught in science classes and its “success” was that the government rejected its petition, issued advice on what is already the case and changed nothing.
Finally, Mr Canning states that the numerous anti-religious posts on both their official and “open forum” do not necessarily reflect the views of the society.
I wonder if he says the same about the founder and current office bearer, Garry Otton, who in 2013 declared on its Facebook page that: “Personally, as a secularist, I hate religion and feel I have every right to, despite attempts by the Scottish government to sneak a blasphemy law round the back door by making it an offence this year to hate religion.”
David Robertson, St Peters Free Church, St Peter St, Dundee.
Intolerance and abuse by society
Sir,- I can only confirm Rev David Robertson’s experience of the Scottish Secular Society and what many may interpret as its intolerance.
I have read posts by one of the society’s leading lights over a period, referring to Mr Robertson in terms that were highly insulting.
I too as an ordinary citizen who had written a letter the secularist body did not like a few years ago, found my Facebook page invaded by some of its leading members and posts of an insulting nature made about me for no reason other than that I disagreed with their view of the world.
I have watched and read many letters and, perhaps more revealingly, posts by the SSS and its leading lights since then.
The petition raised before the Scottish Parliament by the SSS, about alleged creationist indoctrination in Scottish schools, was in fact signed by dozens, if not hundreds, of people living furth of Scotland in England, America and other dubious locations in terms of rights to raise issues in the Holyrood Parliament.
I too feel concerned by the vitriol some supporters and office bearers of this organisation pour on anyone who disagrees with their opinions.
The SSS is a tiny and unrepresentative body, in my view not very Scottish in its membership, shrilly atheist rather than solely secularist in its real beliefs, unrepresentative of Scots people and their traditions of civility and tolerance, and an organisation all too accurately described by David Robertson.
Gus Logan, York Road North, Berwick.
Deprived of our day in court
Sir,- The government has announced that UK taxpayers will not incur higher Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) if their existing vehicles are found to be fitted with illegal software that manipulates emissions tests.
At a stroke, this nullifies a ground for a class-action against VW Group under a newly introduced law The Consumer Rights Act 2015 which allows British courts to hear US-style class actions, where one or several people sue on behalf of a much larger group.
Volkswagen customers in the UK face not only the inconvenience of losing their vehicle while it is being repaired, but also higher fuel costs, and, until the government’s statement, higher VED, because vehicles will be less fuel-efficient and could emit more CO2 following any upgrade.
Except for the government’s intervention, VW Group vehicle owners would have had, it seems, a viable class-action legal claim for anti-competitive practices, with the value of vehicles falsely boosted by VW’s misrepresentations.
Geoff Naylor, Birch Close, Colden Common, Winchester.
No excuse for FM’s ignorance
Sir,- When the SNP was accused of running “tartan baboons” in the general election, Nicola Sturgeon reacted with fury, but the reality was much worse it ran Michelle Thomson.
Bute House must exist in a vacuum since she told journalists: “I had no knowledge of her business dealings until, like everybody else, I read it in the Sunday Times”.
I must advise the First Minister that Edinburgh members of my golf club in darkest Fife had been perfectly aware of Ms Thomson’s entrepreneurial activities for several years.
There was much glee when the FM’s endorsement was read out: “Michelle knows what she’s doing, knows her area and knows about fairness, equality and prosperity”.
Even allowing for the lethargy of the Scottish judiciary and the Law Society’s penchant for redacted reports there was general agreement that solids would eventually hit the fan.
Rev Dr John Cameron, Howard Place, St Andrews.
Uncertainty is no good thing
Sir,- What should the voters make of the continuing uncertainty over who should chair the Glenrothes Area Committee on Fife Council (Courier, October 3)?
It does seem that the constant manoeuvring is damaging the credibility of local government in the area.
Another change this Wednesday would mean the fifth time the chair has switched in the space of just over three years.
It doesn’t help to convince business, voluntary and other organisations in the area that the council really knows what it is doing.
A simple solution would be for Labour to withdraw its motion to remove chairwoman Fiona Grant and vice-chairman Ross Vettraino.
This would be a mature move in the light of the recent byelection result in Glenrothes West and Kinglassie.
It would also recognise that other elections this year have shown quite clear support for the Nationalists.
It is something former SNP councillor (now independent) Bill Brown should recognise too.
He should set aside his differences with the party he left and respect the verdict of the voters.
The man he backed, Alan Seath, was resoundingly defeated in last week’s poll. He should abstain if Labour persist in pressing for a vote.
What might happen then is anyone’s guess the status quo might prevail, the matter could be settled by a cut of the cards.
But people in the area have a right to expect councillors are putting the interests of the people, rather than their own party interest, first.
Bob Taylor, Shiel Court, Glenrothes.
Councillors must open their eyes
Sir,- No doubt I am down as one of Mr Bullough’s critical and pessimistic vocal minority regarding the future of Perth and all its vanity projects.
Going by the number of people who take the time to say how much they agree with the sentiments expressed in my last letter, maybe that small minority is not that small.
All these projects cost taxpayers money, not just courage.
Imagine that I am a first-time visitor to Perth to celebrate the City of Culture.
I am on a limited budget and travelling to Perth by bus and will be arriving at Leonard Street bus station.
If I arrive there via the Edinburgh Road past the South Inch and Marshall Place, I will be impressed.
Then I reach the bus station and a sort of depression might start to set in when I look around for clean, modern, decent facilities and happy smiling staff, so I start to walk into Perth via Caledonian Road and the Old High Street until I come to St Paul’s Church.
At which point I begin to question the wisdom of coming to Perth at all.
I look down the High Street at the empty shops. I wander along George Street admiring the roof vegetation and cross Perth Bridge (trying not to notice the rust and cracked pavements) to Bridgend.
It is then I do a smart about turn, return to Leonard Street via South Street and get back on the next bus home.
If our councillors cannot envisage the foregoing, maybe they should actually try walking that route without the aid of rose-tinted spectacles and see Perth as the residents see it.
John D Ridley, Spoutwells Drive, Scone.
Intolerance and abuse by society
Sir,- I can only confirm Rev David Robertson’s experience of the Scottish Secular Society and what many may interpret as its intolerance.
I have read posts by one of the society’s leading lights over a period, referring to Mr Robertson in terms that were highly insulting.
I too as an ordinary citizen who had written a letter the secularist body did not like a few years ago, found my Facebook page invaded by some of its leading members and posts of an insulting nature made about me for no reason other than that I disagreed with their view of the world.
I have watched and read many letters and, perhaps more revealingly, posts by the SSS and its leading lights since then.
The petition raised before the Scottish Parliament by the SSS, about alleged creationist indoctrination in Scottish schools, was in fact signed by dozens, if not hundreds, of people living furth of Scotland in England, America and other dubious locations in terms of rights to raise issues in the Holyrood Parliament.
I too feel concerned by the vitriol some supporters and office bearers of this organisation pour on anyone who disagrees with their opinions.
The SSS is a tiny and unrepresentative body, in my view not very Scottish in its membership, shrilly atheist rather than solely secularist in its real beliefs, unrepresentative of Scots people and their traditions of civility and tolerance, and an organisation all too accurately described by David Robertson.
Gus Logan, York Road North, Berwick.
Deprived of our day in court
Sir,- The government has announced that UK taxpayers will not incur higher Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) if their existing vehicles are found to be fitted with illegal software that manipulates emissions tests.
At a stroke, this nullifies a ground for a class-action against VW Group under a newly introduced law The Consumer Rights Act 2015 which allows British courts to hear US-style class actions, where one or several people sue on behalf of a much larger group.
Volkswagen customers in the UK face not only the inconvenience of losing their vehicle while it is being repaired, but also higher fuel costs, and, until the government’s statement, higher VED, because vehicles will be less fuel-efficient and could emit more CO2 following any upgrade.
Except for the government’s intervention, VW Group vehicle owners would have had, it seems, a viable class-action legal claim for anti-competitive practices, with the value of vehicles falsely boosted by VW’s misrepresentations.
Geoff Naylor, Birch Close, Colden Common, Winchester.
Children give a lesson in civics
Sir,- A cornerstone of the Curriculum for Excellence is active citizenship.
How uplifting, then, to see primary school children in Crail taking this theory out of the classroom and standing up for their local library.
The children have also stolen a march on Fife Council’s Education Department.
Why isn’t its director speaking out against the proposed cuts to the library service?
Public libraries are a vital resource in children’s education, both formally and informally.
As cuts bite in schools, public libraries are becoming more, not less, important.
A small example my son’s school has run out of reading books for his Primary 7 reading group, and the children have been asked to bring in their own book.
Closing small libraries in rural communities hits their most vulnerable members the hardest: children and young people, the disabled and aged, and those on very low incomes.
The letters the children at Crail Primary wrote to Fife’s Cultural Trust show they get this.
Sometimes the wee ones know better what really matters than their number-crunching elders and betters.
Linda Holt, Dreel House, Pittenweem, Anstruther.