Commemoration or Celebration?
I recently saw a meme, that said “Your grandparents were called to war, You’re being called to sit on your couch. You got this”
I understand the sentiment behind it, but comparing war to a being housebound is a bit of a stretch.
I've never really understood ANZAC Day. Don’t get me wrong I’m all for remembering our dead and not forgetting the ultimate sacrifice they made.
ANZAC Day in the past always seemed more like a celebration to me, waving the flag at 11am and then drinking with your mates and betting on two coins with a complete stranger.
Which is a strange way to remember our armed forces personal considering what they were asked to do?
It’s like the tenebrous link being Jesus dying on the cross, and a big giant rabbit sneaking into your home to give you chocolate.
So this year it was great to see people on their front lawns, taking a minutes silence in their own way. It seemed so much more respectful and dignified and befitting.
Glyn Harper, professor of war studies at New Zealand's Massey University, agrees.
"In New Zealand, the emphasis is on the dawn service. It's a time of reflection on the cost of war and how it shaped the country."
"In Australia, the dawn service is important but the focus is on the 11am military parade. People clap and cheer as the military units go past. It starts with reflection but later it becomes something to celebrate."
Why are we clapping and cheering that these boys (and girls) were sent to another country by our government to try and kill other people while not getting killed themselves? If you watched any of the recent historical war movies like Dunkirk or 1917 you’d realise there is nothing glamourous about dying in the mud in a foreign country.
Not only are we clapping and cheering at 11am, but what about ANZAC day matches and tests and games and sales.
Is catching and kicking a ball for 80 minutes, really the same as drowning in freezing mud while a sniper tries to blow your head off. Once again more cheering and applause and spending.
War is not a military version of the Olympic Games. There are no winners only degrees of loss.
This year’s ANZAC Day was more stripped back and personal, one that truly befitted our dead national heroes, one where we really got to think about their sacrifice. It makes being stuck at home whinging that there is nothing to watch on Netflix a bit self-centred and pretentious.
This year ANZAC day was a respectful commemoration and when the COVID-19 crisis is over, maybe we should look at repeating it.
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