>A Clan is a family. The word in Gaelic means "Children" you don't >require
>a piece of paper to be a Clan member. We all owe as Clansman >our
>allegiance to one Chief "Caithness". Before we get embroiled in >bits of
>paper and organisations we must remember that we are a band of >brothers.
>We may argue, we may fight but in the end, we surely know >that it is this
>unique blood that binds us together.
It may indeed be the case that many of us have blood ties, but there are
certainly just as many whom we don't have blood ties to. When we speak of a
Clan Association we are speaking of a legally incorporated body that has
been setup to represent a particular group. We have Clan Sinclair USA, Clan
Sinclair Canada, Clan Sinclair Nova Scotia, Clan Sinclair Australia, Clan
Sinclair (Scotland) - these include men and women, not brothers, which have
chosen to demonstrate support and allegiance to their Clan by belonging, as
financial members, to their country's association.
More to the point, we are not a band of brothers, we are a motley group of
men and women, who may or may not have blood ties (and in some cases it's
preferable to think we don't have any ties) who either bear the same surname
or can directly trace our lines to a progenitor of the surname Sinclair.
Neither of which guarantees us any relationship to any other Sinclair out
there.
When it comes to "pieces of paper" - these are what show us in this world of
ours, where our allegiances lie, and whether we are really prepared to "put
our money where our mouth is". Too many people are happy and willing to lay
claim to belonging to a group, but when it comes to the crunch, there is no
real support forthcoming. By belonging to an Association, you have shown
that you are prepared to follow through on your word, to make good your
promises, and not just trail along on the coat-tails of someone who's doing
the hard work for you.
Our clan associations hold their Clan Chief in the place of highest honor,
and openly and honestly support him in the work in which he does. It behoves
everyone who bears the Sinclair name or wishes to lay claim to it, to belong
to their Clan Association, and show their honest and true support for their
Chief.
Sinclair
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