----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, September 07, 1999 4:22
AM
Subject: Orkney
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"