I have faced this recently and I think y'all are headed in the same direction I chose.

On the one hand, I could wear a legitimate clan Scott badge. If I did most Americans wouldn't know any better and I suspect the actual Scottish folks here would over look it as misguided enthusiasm.

In point of fact the banded and buckled badge is a heraldic badge of submission. I do not live in Scotland, I am an American. I can trace my Scot/ Scott/ Scotte line back to one of three guys named Harry Scot born in Lancashire PA during 1750. I don't know which of those three was my great- great-x-great grandfather, and I don't know what his political views were as a 26 year old.

If the Duke launches a public appeal on CNN tomorrow to save the ancestral castle I'll probably send in a few bucks, and I am going to wear the tartan with pride; but I am not going to wear a badge I don't believe in and disrespect my cousins at home in the process.

So here we are. For the plaid brooch at my wedding I am going to home cast a snowflake in poor man's pewter using the lost wax process in plaster of Paris. It is going to look good, it will be respectful of those who really are loyal to the Duke, it will be apropriate. I do live in Alaska. We got a few snowflakes around.

The human requisite of belonging to a larger group is one of the conundrums atributable directly to our national sense of individualism.

State flower I think is a terrific choice. Organic, pretty, inoffensive to those who really are loyal to whichever aristocrat. State outline, great.

A bird you really like that is native to the area you call home I think is great. Cardinal, Eagle, whatever.

Recognizable fauna, perfect. Road runner, armadillo, a salmon with its mouth all puckered up by freshwater, various fish, awesome.



I am somewhat troubled by college emblems. I happen to be an alum of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I hate Duke basketball so much I want you to hate them too; but that is hardly a sentiment to carry into a pub at my age. Are you a fan of Alabama football, or a graduate of UA? If you are a graduate and there is nothing else you feel more strongly about I guess you should wear that badge, but you might be "that guy" everyone is talking about.

Next time you see someone wearing some Tar Heel gear, ask them when they graduated...the folks who only wear the colors on Duke game days can look you in the eye and answer the question.



If you served, I don't have a problem with a fouled anchor, crossed muskets and so on. Crossed cannon, Budweiser emblem, it's all good.

My point is as Americans badges and kilt pins are an area where we have a legitimate freedom for self expression, but with that freedom comes the responsibility to express ourselves respectfully.