LISTEN to Unionists talk about Scotland, and you'd think the rest of the world sees us as an irrelevant nation that would hold no sway outside of the UK.
Listen to what the rest of the world is actually saying, however, and a very, very different picture emerges.
While Theresa May and her Tory chums are off embarrassing us on the global stage, the First Minister's positive vision of Scotland is winning others over.
In fact, former US vice-president Al Gore had glowing praise to issue to an "enlightened" Scotland in an interview with Nicola Sturgeon.
How the world sees Scotland: Watch former US Vice-President @algore interview First Minister @NicolaSturgeon about enlightened Scottish environmental policy #COP24 #ClimateAction š“ó §ó ¢ó ³ó £ó “ó æš pic.twitter.com/Xm0135M0PJ
ā Angus Robertson (@AngusRobertson) December 4, 2018
The First Minister was in Poland for a key UN climate change conference ā an issue which the world must tackle fast, and Scotland is at the forefront of the battle to do so.
Gore is a widely respected figure on this matter, so his praise for Scotland really should fill us with pride.
In the interview, he stops to say: "This is not a question, I just want to interject a comment about your emphasis on the importance of sufficient political will in Scotland.
"Many historians have written about the age of the enlightenment. The age of reason. And perhaps itās my bias in favour of Scotland again, but Iāve always thought that the Scottish Enlightenment played a very special role, and I kind of think that the legacy of that Scottish Enlightenment is still very much alive and is evident in the political will that you refer to."
READ MORE:Ā Independence supporters should watch out for the tricks of the British establishment
It came after Gore asked Sturgeon why "Scotlandās progress has been faster than most other places in Europe".
The First Minister responded:Ā āWell partly itās political will and weāve got great consensus across the political spectrum in Scotland, sure we disagree on some of the detail but thereās a great deal of consensus open the direction of travel.
āWe also have massive renewable energy potential and that has allowed us already to reach a position where around 70% of our electricity comes from renewable sources, weāre now working towards a target of by 2030 at least half of all of our energy needs coming from renewables sources as well, so weāre blessed with the natural resources, and coupling that with the political will, weāre able to go faster than many others, and that helps us to encourage others across the UK, across Europe and further afield to follow on.
READ MORE:Ā These are our alternative paths to Scottish independence
āBut itās important that we continue to raise our ambition as well. The Paris treaty makes it necessary we do so, the IPCC reports just a few weeks ago really is a call to action for all of us ā none of us, even those of us in a leadersā position here, none of us can afford to be complacent or rest on our laurels.ā
A different class to Theresa May, entirely.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. Weāve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who arenāt really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So thatās why weāve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate ā and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about ā people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Letās get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel