September 13.
Douglas Harrison correctly commends Hamish Henderson's fine ballad
Freedom Come A' Ye on account of its anti-colonialist theme and its
evocation of the Scottish radical egalitarian tradition (September 13).
He fails to note that at the present juncture of Scotland's political
history a Scottish national anthem ought surely to reflect the
continuing struggle of Scotland itself for national liberation from the
still essentially imperialist clutches of the centralised British state.
Against this background Hamish Henderson's song is a futuristic paean
in praise of the ideal of universal brotherhood -- which no doubt
inadvertently shifts the political focus from the pressing need in
contemporary Scotland for a democratic government accountable solely to
the Scottish electorate.
Ian O. Bayne,
8 Clarence Drive,
Glasgow.
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