Money, or rather the love of money, is said to be the root of all evil. I think that is a little harsh on money, there are many, many roots of evil, but watching a program last night about Donald Trump did provide a deal of evidence to support the premise.
The much publicised Trump International Golf Links in Blamedie, Aberdeenshire was hailed as a shot in the arm for the local economy when it was planned in 1995. Mr Trump visited the area and made all the right noises about creating jobs and attracting tourists to the area.
What he, and his good buddy Alex Salmond failed to say, was that he was going to ‘sanitize’ the area, clearing residents from their land and family homes, in order to save his visitors from having to look out over ‘slums’ and ‘pig stys’ whilst playing golf on his new course.
He also failed to mention that far from sculpting the course to fit the rare and protected dune habitat, his course designers and architects would completely rebuild the area in order to force nature to fit the course.
In a documentary that mimicked ‘Local Hero’, a film about Scottish locals fighting against the development of the oil industry in their own back yard, You’ve Been Trumped takes us through the battles and underhand tactics used against a small number of locals.
If I were Scottish, and considering my choices in the upcoming independence referendum, I would be very concerned by the way that Alex Salmond has not only bowed to financial pressure, but literally sold his true fellow Scots down the river.
In a modern re-enactment of the infamous Highland Clearances, the Trump organisation, the Scottish government, the local constabulary and the Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, left morals and decency back in the club house as they turned a blind eye to the use of strong arm tactics against defenceless residents.
Watch the documentary and then write to Trump or Salmond to tell them just where they can stick their mashie niblicks.
The Search For Enlightenment 
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