This whole thread has me wondering whether I should feel guilty about my ancestors, or not. The French part of my family arrived with Cadillac and were part of the founding of Detroit. I suspect they were prosperous, but it seemed that each generation made its own way. The most successful French family member owned a flower shop.

The German part of the family, who I suspect had Jewish roots, were furriers and then engineers. I suppose my dad was a Captain of Industry since he was an engineering manager - should I feel guilty about him? He was (and is) a nice guy, and very generous.

The Irish part were cleaning ladies and housewives, so I guess I don't need to feel guilty about them - their men were unknown.

On second thought, maybe it doesn't make sense to feel guilty about my ancestors, or to apologize for them. Apologizing for my ancestors seems really, really stupid. So, I agree with Mr. Dawkins that blaming him for his ancestors is silly. Maybe, though, might it also be silly to blame all religious people for the misdeeds of others? Mr. Dawkins seems to be quite balanced and tolerant in this discussion (click); but many of those who claim to support Dawkins, are far less tolerant.

-Joe-