Mr. Gilmore,

You do present a good background on research into your subject but all the studying in the world don't give a true picture that only real experience can. Say you talk with individuals, study the subject can you really understand how it feels to break a bone unless you yourself have broken one? We are all guilty of saying we know how you feel yet can one really know unless one has shared the same experience. Can today's teen-ager, who only knows cell phones, understand what it was like when you turned the crank for the operator and they rang the number you wanted; can they understand a party line? Point being how can anyone in today's culture understand what the individuals went through 150 years ago which would influence their reactions to the happenings of the time. We can only use conjecture which are tinted by our own experiences and knowledge. This dictates our position on a subject right or wrong and later, with more information, we may change our position. Since none of us can go back in time who is to say what is the truth. Most all accounts of any happening must be taken with a "grain of salt" as everyone likes to make sure they look good so whatever account is produced is slanted toward that goal plus how one individual sees something is not always the same as how the person next to them sees the same happening.

In light of this, in my opinion, everyone is at an impasse on this subject.