Sam Adams and The Journal of Occurrences

The journal of occurrences was a necessary evil.  It may of broken every single ethics code that we enjoy today, but it was incredibly successful at achieving its primary goal, which was to cultivate public hatred for the British troops stationed in Boston.  For each issue, there would be dozens of reports illustrating the many different ways in which the soldiers were abusing their power, always at the expense of innocent colonists.

Let's not be naive here; the Journal was a complete farce.  Its pages contained enough tall tales to topple Pinocchio, but had to settle for a monarchy.  But it's because of publications such as the Journal and Common Sense that a small group of rebels were able to spark a revolution.  It just goes to show you how powerful a journalist can be when they effectively capture the public's attention.

My feelings regarding Mr. Adams are hopelessly mixed, and I feel a similar way about the other early patriots.  In my opinion, two wrongs do not make a right.  And though I can understand the American colonists' struggle, I often wonder how different our nation's history would be had the British withdrawn their troops before the Boston Massacre.  Many people argue that the revolutionary war was absolutely inevitable - and they're probably right, but there will always be a part of me that has an issue with the lies that this great nation was built on.  When the building blocks being used are lies and deceit, it makes for a shaky and unstable foundation.  And of course, if enough mistrust exists, everything that we've created through the years can come crashing down around us.  That's not a future that any of us want.