Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Angus Peter Campbell: Gestures and symbols mean nothing unless they are followed by action

New MSP Karen Adam
SNP MSP Karen Adam makes an affirmation in sign language during the recent oath and affirmation ceremony at Holyrood

Politics has always been mostly about symbol and gesture, so it was no surprise – though a bit tiresome and predictable – to see all the new MSPs strut their stuff in Holyrood last week when they took their oaths.

Little white roses aplenty, a kilt or two, a clenched fist here and there and a spattering of languages, just to show that even if all they want is the little white rose of Scotland, they are aware – with the eyes of their constituents and a bit of the world on them – that there are other mythic roses, and thorns, too.

Angus Peter Campbell

My own ancestral Highland Chiefs knew the power of symbol very well. I’m not sure that it was either for comfort or practicality that they swathed themselves in the finest tartan decorations when having their portraits painted. The great artist Sir Henry Raeburn made a splendid job of Colonel Alastair Ranaldson Macdonell of Glengarry (1771-1828), whose portrait hangs in the Scottish National Gallery in Edinburgh.

Colonel Alastair looks terrific, all the way from his feathered bunnet to his tartan-stockinged feet, holding a fine musket. Meantime, away from the studio, he was busy clearing his tenants from the land to make way for sheep. The great Gaelic poet Sorley MacLean gave him this solo line in one of his poems: “Rinn e milleadh air Cloinn Dòmhnaill”. In English: “He spoiled Clan Donald.”

Dressing up or dressing down? Both have meaning

Appearance has always mattered. The Picts, for example, knew the power of paint. I suppose facing up to a multi-painted warrior was a bit more challenging to any ancient Roman than facing up to a peely-wally mannie shaking the heather from his loins.

And what about those awesome Vikings with their splendid spiked helmets? Or the bonny Highlanders in their military kilts sent over the top again and again and again? No great mischief if they fall, as General Wolfe put it at the Heights of Abraham.

To pay lip service to a thing might even be worse than to ignore it altogether

Dressing down has its symbolic power as well, of course. Barefoot monks sent their own clear message that this vale of tears was nothing compared to the glory to come. But whether dressing up or dressing down, the important thing is that actions match the symbol.

For what’s the point of dressing up like a Clan Chief Warrior if, at the same time, you are clearing the people you are supposed to lead and represent? Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales is marvellously riddled with such characters, off on their pilgrimage.

Politicians make gestures – ordinary people take action

Gestures and symbols matter. Of course they do. And carry tremendous power. Think of the visual power of the Soviet hammer and sickle. Of the mass singing of La Marseillaise. Of taking the knee, reminding all of us that racism ought to have no place in our lives.

Seeing Gaelic on road signs validates the language for those of us who were told for years and years that it was a backward, and only oral, tongue. To be heard (quietly by the hearth) and certainly not seen in public.

I like the fact that our elected parliamentarians took their oaths in British Sign Language and in English and in Orcadian and in German and in Scots and in Urdu and in Zimbabwean Shona and in Doric and in several other languages, as a symbolic gesture of indigenous and international solidarity. Put into action the following day by ordinary people in Kenmure Street in Glasgow.

Politics as the art of the possible, not just performance

What matters at the end of the day, of course, is not the gesture but the action. To pay lip service to a thing might even be worse than to ignore it altogether. For it is one thing to stick on a kilt and sporran and a feathered bunnet; it’s another to go to the roots of those outward things and to learn and use Gaelic before you adorn yourself with its symbols, via Sir Walter Scott and the House of Hanover.

Residents of Kenmure Street in Glasgow and other protestors successfully prevented immigration officers from removing people from a property recently

You must practice, with grace, what you preach. Move from the art to the craft of politics: from taking your oath in Gaelic to putting robust radical policies in place to ensure its survival and growth. From gestures, to the things that really improve our lives: making sure potholes are repaired, ferries are built, hospitals are resourced, schools are supported, jobs are created, social houses are built, land is made affordable, the environment is safeguarded.

No little white rose on the lapel, or a word of Doric, or a bonny kilt or a clenched fist will enable these things. Only politics as the art of the possible, not as the posture of performance.


Angus Peter Campbell is an award-winning writer and actor from South Uist

Read more by Angus Peter Campbell: