After years of thinking I knew exactly what side I'd be on, today I find myself uncertain about it.
My present state of being gets disgusted when I read about the agitators, "War Hawks", and "Fire Eaters" such as Edmund Ruffin and John Brown. So many people wanted war so badly. Now that I have a son, the thought of him dying in a ditch alone or being mutilated by canister shot is very disheartening. While I love the romanticism of paintings depicting soldiers kissing their sweethearts goodbye, the reality of the situation is much more grim than we often imagine. Not only was the young man going off to possibly never return, but his young wife and child was left without a chance is most cases. The scene in "Cold Mountain" with Natalie Portman displays the plight of the widow and the orphan very well, IMO.
All the while, Edmund Ruffin and the like (North and South) were sitting in there parlors sipping mint juleps and trying to profit off of the war however they could, politically or financially.
So many young pawns sent to the slaughter. I'd be foolish to think that I'd be smart enough to avoid it. Hindsight is 20/20.
If I knew then what I know now, I think I'd be more like Alexander Doniphan. In reality, I have no reason to belive that I wouldn't be enlisting right behind my ancestors in various Alabama outfits.