At 11:22 07/09/99 +0100, you wrote:
>
>
>It s very interesting to see Niven s view as opposed to my view on the
>"Earldom of Orkney". Many historical facts are not in fact "facts". So
>little documentation exists but peoples are formed not by race or language
>but by common political military or emotional experience. The collective
>experience of a clan or indeed of a nation can only exist by the passing
>from generation to generation of that experience. A clan without history
>is a contradiction in terms. Many of our experiences involve the creation
>of a myth. A myth doesn t mean the invention of a fairy tale. It is an
>acceptance of the belief of our common past. Whether we are related by
>blood or not is immaterial. The facts or myths of our ancestors, be they
>real or assumed ancestors are only a guide to our hopes and aspirations as
>a family.
>
>"May we all as brothers be"
If there is a difference, it is a difference without a distinction.
I agree with every word of the above.
Niven Sinclair
[ This is the Sinclair family discussion list, sinclair@mids.org
[ To get off or on the list, see http://www.mids.org/sinclair/list.html