Re: Orkney

[Niven Sinclair <niven@niven.co.uk>]

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

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