User blog comment:JoshofBlades/Why the Empire Should Prevail Over the Stormcloaks! (part 2)/@comment-67.49.41.50-20120901094349

That may be true. But I recall no dialog that indicates Ulfric acts the way he does because he must, and not because it is truly what is in his heart. His dialog always speaks of the "true sons of Skyrim". Making a choice in the civil war is difficult, but the feeling that supporting the Stormcloaks against the Empire would lessen the condition of non-Nord races in Skyrim, as well as diminish the possibility of ever defeating the Thalmor helped decide the issue for me.