Lessons learned in an unlikely place

I went to Scotland recently, mostly for the rich historical background and landscape. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a history geek with my nose constantly buried in a book. Lately I've been reading a lot about the Protestant Reformation in Britain, including the Tudors, the Scots and the French. Scotland seemed a pretty valid choice for my vacation.
Our country's Second Amendment, I learned was not only thought of by our own Founding Fathers. In Scotland, it came from the preamble to their Militia Act to give the Scots the coequal right to have weapons and build their own local militias to protect themselves. The Scots had lived in constant warfare for centuries, and just as our ancestors, were also subject to the rule of the English. I always thought the farmers-turned-Minutemen were the reason behind the 2nd Amendment, but this added an entirely new context for me.
We can also surmise the Establishment Clause of the 1st Amendment is directly related to the religious upheaval in the two centuries since Martin Luther and Henry VIII caused such trauma. However, in the colonies, people still had the freedom to worship even under the crown. Over in Scotland, they were fighting to have the freedom to practice whatever they wanted without interference or sanctioning by the King.
Both of these examples provided me with a new level of depth as to the ideas and experiences that went into building our Declaration of Independence and Constitution. We succeeded where the Scots and the Irish didn't, but many of their ideas made it into the American experience. Although the Irish have been an independent Republic for almost 90 years, after centuries of occupation and subjegation. Scotland went through devolution a few years ago, and now retain much of their own local power with respect to countrywide and realm-wide decisions that are made in England by the Queen.
I will end with this, a quote from the Declaration of Arbroath made in 1320. Tell me if this doesn't sound distinctlyAmerican:
It is in truth not for glory, nor riches, nor honours that we are fighting, but for freedom -- for that alone, which no honest man gives up but with life itself.