"I know the Scots have a love-hate relationship with optimism. Our ingrained romanticism – born of our landscape, our literature and our wanderings – makes us optimistic. But romanticism can crumble at the first sign of adversity," wrote George Kerevan, Journalist, economist, filmmaker, and ecosocialist and former SNP MP for East Lothian.
In an article entitled, "New year gives us the chance to rekindle Scotland’s natural optimism", writes, "I think 2024 requires a bit of optimism, especially in the independence movement. Fortunately, I think we Scots are disposed to being more optimistic than our English neighbours...."
George asks "BUT are the Scots true optimists?"
"our national myth – Bruce in the cave watching the spider weave and reweave its broken web – is all about optimism and perseverance."
"The Lowlanders and Highlanders who undertook the great migration of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries did so out of optimism as well as brutal necessity – and transformed the world. Scottish perseverance and wilful optimism gave us a host of inventions and discoveries from the telephone to television, and from anaesthetics to insulin. This is fertile ground for a fresh national endeavour in 2024."
What do you think? Is George's underpinning belief right? Are the Scots natural optimists?