I recently watched the History Channel's new documentary on the War of 1812 and I learned some interesting things. 

• There was much debate about going to war.  The war was a result, in large part, of the impression of US born citizens into the British Navy.  Interestingly, Britain had already ended the practice prior to the US Declaration of War.  Unfortunately, due to delays in communication, the news did not reach America in time.  However, there were other issues.  Shipping, a major industry, was suffering from British policies prior to the war.  Settlers on the frontier were suffering increased Indian attacks thought to be instigated by the British (early terrorism).
• Debate about the war was quite heated in this country, especially in the early parts of the conflict.  There was actually a move for succession by some of the residents of New England.
• The American defense of Washington was a disaster.  Most people know that the city was burned.  What many do not is that the “stand“ taken by American forces to defend the city at Bladensburg, Maryland has been dubbed the Bladensburg Races because American forces turned and retreated so quickly.  It is said that the British suffered more casualties from heat stroke as their troops tried to pursue the Americans than they suffered during the brief battle.
• The Battle of New Orleans was a startling success.  A small force of untrained militia clearly defeated the highly trained and much larger British Army.   The battle was won by a rag-tag collection of fighters who had little in common except for the fact that they were all Americans.  (Interestingly, this battle was actually fought after the end of the war, but due to poor communications in that day, the fighters didn’t know that the war was over until weeks later.)
• The War of 1812 was a pivotal point for our nation and truly galvanized the loose collection of states into one entity and gained recognition for this nation on the international stage.  For all its importance, this conflict is mostly forgotten in our history books and classes.

So, what does all this have to do with today and the conflict in Iraq?

There are many reasons to go to war:  protection of our people (impressments and weapons of mass destruction), economic (shipping and oil), and terrorism (on the frontier and in New York City), among others.  Some of them are more honorable than others, but no conflict is undertaken for just one reason.

It is impossible to judge a conflict when you are living through it.  Clearly, going to war is very serious, and it should be carefully thought out prior to embarking on this course.  However, once the course is set, it is impossible to judge where it will end.  Washington burned to the ground in August 1814; the stunning victory of New Orleans occurred less than 5 months later.  Even then, no one could have predicted how much importance this conflict had in the forging of our nation, which is so clear in hindsight, nearly 200 years later.  We are now involved in the conflict in Iraq, and no amount of debate over “should” or “why” is going to change that fact.  Instead, we must concentrate on the problems at hand and let history give us the answers to these questions, because history will judge, whether we want it to or not.

Americans are strongest when they come together as Americans.  This country, in its ideal, takes the best of all cultures and backgrounds and blends them together.  It is that unique ability which has allowed our country to not only survive, but to thrive throughout the last 200 years.    In 1815, it didn’t matter if you were a Creole, a frontiersman, or a New Englander.  On September 11, 2001, we were all New Yorkers. It is easy, especially at election time, to take sides and point fingers and lay blame.  But, in the end, it doesn’t matter if you are a Republican, a Democrat, a Christian, a Muslim, a man, a woman, an Ohioan, or a Californian. We are all Americans.