Sir, Gus Logan asks who the band of militant secularists are who want to remove religious privilege (Letters, June 8).
I don’t speak for any organisation, however, I do count myself as a secularist and I do not think that one faith should be given special treatment within education, politics or the law.
There are approximately 32,000 denominations of Christianity. Mr Logan does not say which one of these it is that we should give special treatment to in Scotland.
It is not secularists who persecute Christians, it is other Christians belonging to a different denomination. This is why we have religious pluralism.
When the state has a religion then we get places like Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and Iran. Secularism ensures the rights of all religious believers to practise and those with no faith not to believe.
Mr Logan claims that Scotland is being taken away from its Christian heritage.
This is not the case. Christianity has been forced to change by reason.
The claims by the Bible, for example, that the Earth was created in six literal days, or of a great flood, the age of the planet or that the sun revolves around the Earth, have all been shown to be in error by science and reason.
Alan Hinnrichs. 2 Gillespie Terrace, Dundee.
New light cast on Emily myth
Sir, Like Helen Brown I was always led to believe in a myth about suffragette Emily Davison (Comment, June 7). It was that she threw herself in front of the king’s horse at the Epsom Derby in June 1913. She did so as an act of martyrdom to promote the cause of votes for women.
A recent Channel 4 documentary presented by Clare Balding (of television sports presenting fame) caused me to think again. She drew on forensic analysis of newsreel film of the time to cast new light on the affair.
The documentary suggested that Ms Davison was able to identify the monarch’s horse coming; that she tried to approach it to attach a scarf (or banner) with the words “Votes for Women” on it, to the reins; and that the jockey tried unsuccessfully to jump over her and collided with her, with the inevitable tragic results.
I wasn’t clear why Helen should think that the anniversary of this would make it ‘a good month to be a woman’. I can understand the frustration that drove the Women’s Social and Political Union under Emmeline Pankhurst to violent methods to make the case for women’s suffrage. I can understand, too, Emily Davison’s obsessive dedication to the cause.
It is inconceivable, however, that she was not aware of the risks of what she tried to do. But her efforts were ultimately futile. Votes for Women came about in the end as an act of gratitude for their dedication to the cause in the First World War and successive, peacefully enacted acts of parliament since then.
Bob Taylor. 24 Shiel Court, Glenrothes.
Is being British all that counts?
Sir, James Davie (Letters, June 7) appears to have forgotten that the discussion he chose to contribute to was triggered by a claim made by Jenny Hjul that the SNP were attempting to politicise the Scottish curriculum.
My original point being that the British establishment had been doing so for generations, with a detrimental effect on our own perception of self as a nation. Mr Davie originally called my views “nationalistic tosh”, even though I had pointed out to Mr Davie previously that I am not a nationalist.
He would be better served if he read what is actually there rather than what he perceives to be there.
He cites his father’s experience of the Second World War, stating he left his “homeland” to fight Fascism. As did many Scots. Which homeland would that be? Far too many times it is documented as “England”. A slight to Celts and the Commonwealth.
Mr Davie obviously supports Ms Hjul’s opinion that if it is pro-Scottish it must be pro-SNP and be fought at every turn. His assertion that he is “anti-Scottish nationalism” only confirms this.
I ask again. Why do we have to justify teaching our children OUR history? Why do Ms Hjul and Mr Davie feel so threatened by our history unless it is wrapped wholly in a Union flag?
This isn’t about party politics, but giving our children a fully rounded picture of where they are, geographically and historically a natural occurrence in other countries.
The historian David Starkey believes a pre-Union Scotland is of no interest. An opinion a “100% Scotsman” such as Mr Davie should be challenging, not perpetuating. Or is “being British” all that counts?
Ken Clark. 335 King Street, Broughty Ferry, Dundee.
Alien concept to most of us
Sir, The campaign to grant marriage rights to gay couples is scoring success after success in Scotland and in France and now the House of Lords has given its approval to legislation for England.
What puzzles me is how a tiny minority of our population can impose its will on the majority. Our representatives in our various parliaments and even substantial numbers in authority in the Church of Scotland may be in favour of changing the definition of marriage, but I am sure a referendum on it would return an overwhelming vote against.
Apart from religious and traditional social considerations which stress the importance of marriage of a man and a woman as the cornerstone of our society, to allow same-sex couples to marry is to alter completely the meaning of the word “marriage”.
If homosexual and lesbian couples wish to enter into a life-long contract, then it should not be called “marriage”. The concept is alien to most of us and should be given a different name and a different status.
George K McMillan. 5, Mount Tabor Avenue, Perth.
City would lead world
Sir, As an alternative to Dundee’s proposed biomass plant, which will use old fashioned steam technology, perhaps alternative renewable fuel technology would do better. A new project being sponsored by the US navy can perhaps show the way.
This project uses proprietary micro-organisms and natural fermentation to break down the sugar in switchgrass and other woody biomass, converting it directly into butanol which is a precursor to standard JP5 jet fuel and can be converted into jet fuel using catalytic converters.
The advantage of this is that jet fuel can be easily stored and used in a high efficiency gas turbine to produce electricity on demand when it is required. Gas turbines are the most efficient heat engines we can build; closed cycle gas turbines have a maximum thermal efficiency of 44%.
Instead of being lumbered with out-of-date combustion technology, Dundee, if it invested in renewable fuel production using enzymatic digester and fermentation, really would be leading the world.
Philip Roberts. Ascurry Mill, by Letham, Angus.
Is this Buddon bombardment really necessary?
Sir, While taking my old hound for her morning walk through Monifieth’s Ashludie Park at around 9am on Monday, the tranquillity was more than a little disturbed by the crackling noise of small-arms fire punctuated by, what sounded like heavy mortar fire from the direction of Barry Buddon.
While the need for some practice shooting can be appreciated is this “bombardment” really necessary?”
These days we are being continually subjected to the sound of gunfire from TV news reports and movies, it would seem that, as a society, we have all become involved in a real-life “shoot-out”.
Kenneth Miln. 22 Fothringham Drive, Monifieth.
Huge housing demand
Sir, The waiting lists for social housing in England and Wales has grown from around a million in 2001 to two million today.
Government household projections show that England will need to build 232,000 social houses per year or 5.8 million homes between 2008 and 2033.
Two million of these will be as a direct result of immigration.
So the social housing demand caused by immigration can only be satisfied by building 200 extra homes every day until 2033.
So where exactly do we get the money to fund this?
Certainly not from the taxes raised from immigrants.
David Cameron proposed on March 25 2013 that immigrants should wait two to five years before becoming eligible to join the social housing waiting list.
This is an excellent idea since many would-be immigrants will not bother coming if they are not eligible for social housing and welfare.
Does anyone still think that immigration contributes to the economy?
Clark Cross. 138 Springfield Road, Linlithgow.
Exports OK, what about imports?
Sir, Almost 60 years ago as an apprentice accountant in Dundee I attended university classes on economics.
I recall that a lecturer produced a statistic showing that according to the death rate per thousand men of a certain age were safer at the war front than they were at home.
I think I detect similar absurdities in many of the statistics produced by the SNP in support of their argument for independence.
Much has been said about the value of Scotland’s ability to export goods and services. On the other hand little has been said about our import requirements.
It is obvious that a great deal, if not the majority, of things needed in Scotland, from motor vehicles to matches, from pensions to pencils, from cigarettes to food, make an endless list.
I think the increasing volume of these additional imports from England, Wales and Northern Ireland will have a rather deleterious effect on Scotland’s balance of payments.
Perhaps the SNP can obtain a statistical point of view saying that this is not important.
Independence will not make Scotland self-sufficient, more likely self-destructive.
A A Bullions. Leven.