Lew Powell's Frostbitten Feet

[Natty]

(08-25-2012 06:40 AM)MaddieM Wrote:  Well said, Natty. Lewis Powell wasn't evil. I don't believe any of the conspirators were. War brings out the worst in people and also the best. I would imagine all them, Powell more than most, suffered because of that war. Was it revenge? A desire to stop further suffering? Bit of both probably.

From another perspective, you could say Lincoln and his decisions cost the lives of hundreds of thousands. Lewis Powell's mistake was a drop in the ocean compared to the suffering this man's decisions caused. Not that he deserved to die, but it's just my take on it.

The conspirators more than paid for their actions. In fact, I believe none of them deserved to die. Lewis Powell knew he'd perpetrated the worst crime of the four, and he was repentant, and genuinely so it seems.

Was Lincoln genuinely sorry for all the men who died on the battlefield? Did he weep over all those lives lost, that he and all the other higher ups involved in the war engineered? As the saying goes, all's fair in love and war. Is war a necessary evil? Is war ever worth it? But then someone might argue that all those lives were worth the end of slavery and the suffering caused by that.

The conspirators were victims just like every other soldier or civilian that suffered in the civil war.

I always say "One man's freedom fighter is another man's terrorist". Basically, in such situations, you can make heroes or fiends out of anyone, depending on your perspective. All sides during war commit atrocities; and no, it was not unusual to assassinate enemy leaders as a form of warfare, depending on the outcome of the situation, these assassins could have easily ended their careers as "national heroes".
It is not always easy to keep emotions and personal bias out of such discussions, which is why I try to distance myself from judgment as far as possible.
It would be nice if we could just discuss everything regarding Lincoln without any flare ups of antagonistic behavior. Haha. I had a dream......

(08-25-2012 06:25 AM)LincolnMan Wrote:  Really nice summary Natty. It is always humbling to me personally when I realize the importance of choices we make in life-and sometimes certain choices can have such life-changing consequences.

Thank you, Bill.
It is startling isn't it? So many of these decisions are made in an off-hand, light hearted manner, the severity of their consequences still some distant, intangible possibility, muddled in a sea of other outcomes. It isn't until the choice has been made and the reality of it becomes apparent that we realize that this one decision, this one moment will forever affect, perhaps even define the course of our lives and the lives of others. And as much as we might like to go into reverse, there is often no way of ever going back.