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A Drunk Scotsman Looks At The 2016 US Presidential Elections, by Gordon Lawrie

4/11/2016

 
Arguably the most significant poem of the 20th century was Hugh MacDiarmid's 1926 work A Drunk Man Looks At The Thistle. Check it out if you're Scottish, otherwise look for a translation! Here's 100 words in a similar vein on Trump v Clinton. I suppose you could even sing it...
Picture
You say Trumpet, I say Claxon
You say she’s crooked!, I say he’s poison,
Trumpet, claxon,
Crooked, poison,
Oh let’s call the whole thing off!
 
You say Repubican, I say Democrat
You say she’s evil, I say he’s malignant,
Republican, Democrat,
Evil, Malignant
Oh let’s call the whole thing off!
 
Oh but if we call the whole thing off
We must start again
And anyway four years from now
We’ll be singing the same refrain
 
So you say elephant, I say donkey
You say rodent, I say monkey
Elephant, donkey
Rodent, monkey,
Sadly – we can’t call the whole thing off!

Fliss
4/11/2016 08:36:30 am

Love it Gordon! Impressively done to get the whole thing in 100 words.

johann lux
5/11/2016 02:21:02 am

Hey what are your thoughts on Scotland becoming independant?

Gordon Lawrie
5/11/2016 12:46:14 pm

I actually voted against independence in 2014, partly because there were so many unanswered questions – it was just too rushed. The UK definitely needs to be rebooted, though, probably into a federal union like the US: Scotland should be ceding powers to London, not the other way around.

That's all changed since the EU referendum. It's hard for outsiders to grasp the dismay, even fury, that Scots feel here. Overall, the UK just voted for Brexit (although there's no disputing the result), but Scots voted massively to stay in the EU. We feel we're being dragged out completely against our will by an English government that simply doesn't care. Imagine if Washington restored slavery across the US, completely against the will of California, and you'll get the idea.

So if it kept us in Europe, I'd vote for independence now in 2016. It would be with regret: although Scotland is a perfectly viable independent country, we live in a global economy and society, and in general we should be looking to broaden our horizons, not narrow them. This is a space to watch.

Johann Lux
6/11/2016 10:57:48 am

A decade ago I lived in South Queensferry. for 5 months. At that time I got the impression Scotland wanted to be independent. Ten months ago I was in Sheffield,UK and got the impression England was feed up with Brussels.
Funny you should mention Washington restoring slavery across the US. This is exactly what happened . The slaves are now illegals pouring across the boarders, so much so I sold my property in Ca, and may have to sell some of my Colorado land as well as the immigration problem becomes more chaotic.

Gordon Lawrie
6/11/2016 01:49:12 pm

Ah... South Queensferry always was a hotbed of nationalism (seriously). These days you'd say everywhere is. And yes, England has been trained by the right-wing media to blame Brussels for everything. The whole thing's a shambles.

Most countries have a love-hate relationship with migrants, don't they? By and large it's the fittest, most active people, and with most to offer, who migrate. They should in theory bring lots of benefits, but like everything else it needs to be controlled. It must be awful to live in a quiet village near a border – anywhere – and suddenly find your neighbourhood simply engulfed* with huge numbers of people on the move.

*It's really hard to find a suitable word there.


Comments are closed.

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