User blog comment:IGotsAName/Empire vs Stormcloaks... Gray & Grey Morality? Really?/@comment-30303790-20120405171104

I have only recently come to support the Empire over the Stormcloaks. Before doing so my arguement was that taking either side was a pick your poison choice. On one hand we have racial bigotry and religious persecution on the other, but ultimately that isn't why I left the Stormcloaks. Ulfric's character cannot be trusted, and while he seems all fine and caring around his soldiers, we know his motivations were power, religion was only a cause to rally support in his name. What he plans to do with this power is what really matters, and just as a well-rounded case can be made to support both Stormcloak or the Empire's military superiority, we don't know what he's going to do. Will he wipe out every other race? Or might betray us all pulling a Manchurian Candidate?

Talos can easily be re-added to the legal worship, but racial issues can span generations without ever losing their potency. Though it should be noted that racism and religion in TES are not completely the same as their real world counterparts. For example, there are legitimate and extreme biological differences between some races, but more importantly, the stereotypes are usually backed up by actual happenings. How many players use Khajiit or Argonians are thieves or assassins? Or elves for mages? Nords and Orcs for melee characters? Are there notable characters that break these molds, yes of course, but they are furthered by players as much as the lore of the games. Religion in the games is far different from that of real life, and while there is no absence of true devotees or martyrs in either, it is hard to find an atheist in TES games. They might not believe in the Nine/Eight devines, but they can deny the fact that the Daetric powers exist. The Daetric Lords themselves are as much like the gods of the ancient Greeks and Romans as the Nine are, who seem to be a stand in for Christianity rather than pagan gods (this is more obvious in Oblivion than Skyrim, and has more to do with the different cultures.)