Jock,

I agree that there is no reason that Scots should feel honored (Am. spelling) or flattered that Americans wear kilts or remember their Scottish heritage. Though, I honestly don't think most Americans wear a kilt, or otherwise keep other customs having an ethnic origin, with the intent of doing anything but please themselves. As Americans, most of us are quite accustomed to being told by citizens of other countries that the American way of doing things is inferior to the ________ (insert country name) way of doing it, or that what we are doing is simply wrong no matter how well we do it. Well, quite frankly I don't think most Americans even care what people from other countries think of our way of life, but we do often wish they would keep their criticism to themselves.

There was a wave of concern about "diversity" in America a few years ago. One of the basic ideas of the was that in order to coexist with people who have different beliefs and life styles, it is helpful to have at least a rudimentary understanding of the differences, however, the fundamental principle was the it was absolutely necessary that people respect the beliefs and feelings of other people regardless of the differences. In simpler terms, we all have the right to be ourselves, and it is sometimes required of us that we accept that other people have a legitimate right to hold differing opinions, and everyone should respect and even accommodate the beliefs and customs of others. The members of this forum live in many countries, and though we have our interest in kilts in common, we are all unique individuals with very different outlooks based on our own personal preferences and frames of references. We do not each have to agree with the ideas or opinions of every other member, but understanding what another person believes and why he holds that belief can be enlightening. Perhaps accepting that there are differing ways of doing things and validating each member's right to be him or herself is something that a website like this could work on.