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Archiver > CLAN-LEASK > 2002-06 > 1023640238


From: "John A Hansen" <>
Subject: [Clan LEASK] RE: MacLeans:His: Culloden 2002 Pictures
Date: Sun, 9 Jun 2002 09:30:38 -0700
In-Reply-To: <3D033734.7080308@insightbb.com>


Dear David:

I'll ignore most of the message but there are a couple of
interesting items that need clarification.

<snip>

> clearly a king's
> power is derived from the people, since (religious philosophy aside) the
> people - through force - can remove a bad leader .......like James.

This is definitely NOT the case. It was only after the "Declaration of
Arbroath"
in April 6 1320 following the Magna Carta that the idea of the King or any
ruler had power as given by the people. The case in point was recognition
of Robert the Bruce. The pope was refusing to acknowledge him as
King of Scotland . The Clan Chiefs and Lords demanded that he be recognized
and the Pope finally agreed in order to obtain their support.
Note that in all dictatorships in the world the Presiding Ruler
has sufficient military power; so even today this is not the case.

Below is the main principle from the Declaration of Arbroath. Adoption of
this
concept has set the USA, Canada, Great Britain, and others that subscribe
to this
idea apart in the world. There has been numerous revolutions and two world
wars fought over this principle. Millions and Millions of people
have given up their lives for these freedoms. In the end, even Britain,
( 400 plus years later) developed the Parliament and thence Scotland
got their say in the rule of Britain.

The Reference below to "he" is Robert the Bruce.

"Yet if he should give up what he has begun, and agree to make us or our
kingdom subject to the King of England or the English, we should exert
ourselves at once to drive him out as our enemy and a subverter of his
own rights and ours, and make some other man who was well able to
defend us our King; for, as long as but a hundred of us remain alive,
never will we on any conditions be brought under English rule. It is
in truth not for glory, nor riches, nor honours that we are fighting,
but for freedom -- for that alone, which no honest man gives up
but with life itself."

Full copy at:
http://www.geo.ed.ac.uk/home/scotland/arbroath_english.html

The next incident in history when this became a issue was in the creation of
our ( US) Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the US.
Remember this American Revolution War happened in 1776.
Culloden had happened in 1744 and the Highland Clearances in
1746 ( barely 30 years before). So all these issues about:
A: separation of church and state
B: Ruling by the power of the people
C: Bill of Rights
were all fresh in the minds of the Scottish people here in the colonies.

Over 50 per cent of the signers of the Declaration and thence the colonial
government had Scottish backgrounds or were descendants. The impact of the
Scottish people on our list of freedoms in the USA can never be forgotten
nor understated! Tartan Day barely begins to provide that recognition.

Let's not take this Freedom for granted nor assume that it is
"a given".

Best Regards
John A Hansen



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