If you only hear one side of the story, you have no understanding at all.
An artist, in my understanding of the word, should side with the people against the Emperor that oppresses his or her people.
The triumph of the written word is often attained when the writer achieves union and trust with the reader, who then becomes ready to be drawn into unfamiliar territory, walking in borrowed literary shoes so to speak, toward a deeper understanding of self or society, or of foreign peoples, cultures, and situations.
