Menoducational - with a bit of the Menosophical for seasoning

When I drove over from Dunoon to Edinburgh (&*> making the point that this time I was not beholden to the same old same old out of a train window!!!), I did a lot of Googly-tripping with the street-side views and such to decide what route to take.  The idea, naturally, to attempt as many photo ops for the Fudge as possible.

Of course, on the day, weather 'fudged' things so it didn't prove all that fruitful.  I still very much enjoyed the drive though and will relate more on that; but today a little about history regarding a place I passed and had no idea about until I looked it up after.

It was hard to miss, quite literally sticking out like a broken thumb!!! Turns out it holds great historical significance.  Not as a participator so much as a landmark observer. Beneath its slopes many a battle and strategic imposition has taken place.

It is none other than LOUDON HILL. I highly recommend the reading to be found on that link, if you are the sort of person who enjoys history generally, if you are the one who watched Braveheart and other such tales, or if you are simply interested in what it is that makes a nation.

It is the latter which caused me to ponder further today. For the immediate history of Loudon, I would not attempt to better what is written at the FutureMuseum website. What struck me again, though (as it has many other times when thinking on history), is how rare it would be to find a society that is made up of purely 'one blood'.

Within my own family for instance, there is Gael, certainly, and Pict almost equally so - but there is quite possibly Flemish blood a long way back and who knows, possibly taint of Viking also. It would be centuries back, for sure.

The point, however, is that nationhood is about shared values, common goals and a desire to belong. It is also about that age old matter of territory, conquering of natives and shifts in culture. Mankind, on the whole, is nothing more than an organised animal in this regard. Robert (de) Bruce, whilst born in Scotland, was of Norman lines. Early in life he associated with his ilk who reigned from the South. However, he felt the land of his birth in his veins and fought long and hard to ensure it remained independent...and under his control. Make no mistake.  He wanted to be in charge. In manifesting that desire, he served Scotland well.

Virtually every nation is an amalgamation of geographically different bloodlines.  What ties them together is the land that is loved and loves them back.

It is possible to love more than one land, to understand the ties and bonds of humanity without borders. I can vouch for this from direct experience. I am born Scottish, am glad of that birthright, but am also proudly Australian and yet identify strongly with India. When one nation rises against another, with diatribe and drivel about being traitorous or impure or any other amount of nonsense, my heart and my very soul ache.

So early in the year we had news of 'illegals' arriving on Italian shores and here in the UK there is much blethering about whether or not there ought to be a control over incomers from Europe. The truth of a constant flow of peoples throughout the entirety of history appears to be conveniently overlooked.

Yes there will be 'bad seeds' in every crop. Majority, though, once planted, give good yield and add to the harvest as a whole.

History is fascinating, but is coloured by the egos of the victors and is, after all, only a 'version'. Despite all the testaments, Man keeps going over the same lessons. Migration is as inherent to our species as territorialism. The only time this will merge into something over which no blood requires to be spilt, no family split asunder, is when all individuals upon the globe understand that all lands and the waters which surround them are for the sharing and the common good. Fences and walls can fall - and we can stand as The Human Nation.