LAST week James MacMillian wrote a piece for The Spectator with an extraordinary assertion at its heart – Scotland’s cultural scene is becoming vile, venal and parochial. The composer and unabashed Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, was unrepentant in his teardown of Scottish culture, claiming it to be guilty of self-aggrandising boosterism – a symptom, he feels, of the recent political tensions and the steer of the state.

James MacMillian’s ideology is manifestly obvious. His inability to find something positive to say about Scottish culture in 1,100 words is particularly telling. Claiming that, “If one questions this assessment and the new cultural orthodoxy up here, one is being disloyal and unpatriotic” is simplistic and indulgent.

Asserting that independence supporters are incapable of being judicious consumers of their country’s output only serves to bolster the negative mythos that surrounds the Yes movement. The same one that’s wheeled out whenever it suits that part of pro-Unionist agenda that seeks to make us feel small and stupid. This perpetuation of binate factionism in attitudes towards Scotland helps no one. It reinforces societal fragmentation, divvying up our culture into things that are ‘safe’ to enjoy depending on your political leanings. A prejudice against culture linked to either side of the independence movement is a limitation – something we should all be mindful of. Not all Yessers are indiscriminate consumers, and not all Unionists are incapable of enjoying Scottishness. There is a myriad of complexity in both parties, and commonalities if you care to look for them.

That’s why, on the one hand, it is fair for MacMillan to express his concerns. Of course you can be critical of Scottish cultural output – but to view it all through such a prejudiced and unwavering vignette only serves to diminish the value of Scotland’s offer. His is undoubtedly a tainted lens. The reality is that we are playing a game of catch up. We have over three centuries of being annexed by British culture. British culture in name, but so often synonymous with Anglification. A little weighting in the favour of our own feels like a necessary step in order to reframe our understanding of what it is to be Scottish, past, present and going forward.

Why is the idea of celebrating Scottishness so abhorrent? Scotland is not Britain. Even in our most cosy moments of this lengthy union, that has never been the case. A distinct identity for Scotland is something we should seek to uphold. The identity only endures if we promote, consume and reflect on the culture that makes us unique. It’s only because of the referendum that MacMillan and the like see a province here – anywhere else, society enjoying the fruits of its artistic output wouldn’t be a point of debate. Children learning about the country of their birth, and the talent it has nurtured, is not a tartaning of the curriculum – it’s a course-correction.

Though there is, perhaps, among the bile, a cautionary tale to take heed of. Boosterism in the name of project Scotland is a concern – but that should not be conflated with cultural pride. We have a legacy of remarkable output. But such a legacy combined with recent political tensions could foster a hubris. The rose-tinted lenses are subconsciously employed when there’s a genuine desire for something to succeed. And of course, there’s the natural fear of criticising something for fear of damaging the whole – I know several people within the Yes movement who’ve been wary of contaminating the brand by expressing any discontent, no matter how small. Much like the Emperor’s New Clothes, going against the grain is something few will naturally do. It takes a certain amount of confidence to assert that something’s crap when everyone else is telling you it’s brilliant.

So while MacMillan’s claims are largely hot air, there is a learning here. We can recognise how important it is that we allow a plurality of cultural output to thrive, even if it doesn’t chime with the aims of the incumbent government. It’s impossible to extricate the artistic from the political, but the SNP must be self-aware enough to recognise their imprint on how culture is consumed in Scotland.

So what’s the story on the ground? I’m afraid I rather have to disagree with Mr MacMillan’s diagnosis. I don’t see the venal and the parochial, any more than I see elsewhere, if that’s what I’m determined to identify.

In my lifetime, things have never felt so healthy or seemed so outward-looking. Whatever your predilection, there’s no shortage. Literature, film, music, art, theatre, food and beyond, there’s plenty to devour, and most without Scottishness as its thematic core. Scottish culture is not venal and parochial – it’s vibrant and an absolutely vital expression of who we are, where we are, and where we’re going.