It occurs to me now, in moments of reflection, that there truly are at least two sides to every story. There are those who believe that treason for any reason is the worst sort of crime, akin to stabbing your best friend in the back. Then there are those who believe that such an act may be the most courageous of all, taking the supreme risk and giving up your homeland for a cause one truly believes in. I have therefore come to the conclusion that treason cannot be considered a 'crime' in the historical sense. History is written by the victors, as they say, and is thus a completely biased account of events.
Benedict Arnold is considered a traitor to this day, though there is certainly someone somewhere who was benefitted by his actions. Benedict Arnold fought brilliantly for the American cause for over 6 years before the source of his notoriety occurred, but that segment of history is seldom recalled. As the American Revolution was breaking out, Arnold volunteered to lead 1000 men up through the woods of Maine to attack British Canada by surprise, through its back door, at Quebec City. This journey, which is still talked about in that part of the country, proved to be a disaster for the volunteers who marched off. Half starved, frozen, and making broth by boiling their own shoe leather and cartridge boxes, they stumbled out of the wilds 50 days later...with 40% of them dead. Many believed they would have all perished were it not for Arnold's courage and leadership in those woods. So you see, there is more to every story. Certainly, Arnold's actions later in life were justifiable in his mind, and who would be better qualified to judge such a choice than he?
This brings me to the point of this thought, which is that an action is simply that: an action. It only becomes a crime when its consequences are later realized, and the historians become judge, jury, and executioner of the man's very soul. The immortalization of a man in the history books can make him revered or reviled, and sometimes both. In fact, if one were to dig deep enough, there would be evidence of both in every story.
So, Dear Reader, I ask this: Please read the whole story before you judge the news figure of the day, be he a Dictator, a terrorist, a politician or a hero. Maybe there is no 'truth' to anything, but at least we'll all have a better idea of what's really going on- and maybe we can all get along a little better.

By John Carter
posted by 123454321 at 9:23 AM