The Bad Guys?

I've been thinking about it, and I still can't decide whether I would be a Loyalist or a Patriot if I had lived in the Colonies in the days leading up to the Revolution. I mean, that's one of the curses of history. Hindsight is 20/20 and the more distant the past becomes, the more black and white those tricky ethical questions seem.


For example, let's look at the Revolution. There was no Gallup poll to determine George III's approval rating, but the general consensus seems to set the number of Loyalists at about fifteen or twenty percent of the population. Though I imagine there were a good many more who tried to be quiet about it. I've been thinking this week, who were the bad guys in the war? Yes, King George was crazy, but not evil. The Redcoats were just doing their jobs; you can't really blame them. For your average colonist, life under the Crown wasn't too shabby. What about the tax on tea? Well, the colonists boycotted English tea; they bought it from the Dutch. Dutch tea was significantly more expensive than British tea, even with the added tax. It certainly seemed more practical to be loyal to King and Crown. 


And then there was the fact that our Founding Fathers were traitors. "Traitor" is such a loaded word. Water Washington a hero or a traitor who needed to be drawn and quartered? I mean, nowadays we look at these illustrious men and see them in the context of their post-war careers. But back then it would be tempting to think "Who the hell do these guys think they are?" They were really just asking for it, taking on the most powerful nation in the world. I wouldn't fault anybody for assuming that little rebellion thing was never going to come to fruition. And even after it started, nobody would ever expect it to be last for years, let alone be successful.


I mean, what an underdog. We should not have won; it must have seemed so futile to many living through it. The story of our country's birth is a damn good one. I'm so proud that our forefathers (and mothers) had the courage to face Goliath. I want to say that I'd have been a Patriot through and through, and I think in my conscience I would have supported the American cause. But I don't know if I would have had the courage to shout it from the rooftops as some did. There would have been so much to lose.


I'd like to know what y'all think. Whose side would you have been on?


Always,
Callie