It also reminds us that all historical conflicts and struggles were never as cut and dry or black and white as some would make them seem to be. Indeed as some would desperately like them to be. There is something deep within the human psyche that desires strongly for a cause to be simple and high-minded, for these things stir the heart and are the source of much romantic fable. It's never true of the real situation, however, as every conflict has many layers and many twists and turns. Some of these were even well known at the time, while others were unearthed much later through research.

With the passing of time, it becomes a struggle that never was. A story fit only for a child's book. Unfortunately, there are those who take this to be an exact interpretation of history and use it as some rallying call. We've all seen some newbies who appear on the forum who'd make you think the Jacobite cause was alive and well! They're just waiting for some Bonnie Prince to ask them to take up targe and claymore, sally forth across the ocean, and regain the Scotland of old!

I'm well acquainted with this phenomenon as I come from a land whose ex-pats are often notorious for over-simplifying issues with the passing of time and distance.

The theme I have always taken from the story of Culloden was the folly of a man's ambition and his willingness to drag everyone and everything down with him. Good people were led to believe they were fighting for something for themselves and they paid the ultimate price of his ambition for years to come. Ironically it was the near-destruction of the culture which they were first duped into believing they were defending. Very sad.