"Supressing critical voices is against the interests of the ordinary people who may one day be the 'fodder' for this or that military conflict. "
Who in Australia is suppressing these "critical voices"? The universities? The government? Curriculum writers?
When did this suppression start?
What are examples of this suppression?
"viewing our history mainly through the prism of our past military engagements, (is) exclusive of other aspects"
What historians of the last 50 years have engaged in this "history"? Can you provide examples?
Now Tristan if you can answer some of these questions with evidence then we are starting to examine history. Otherwise we might as well be pontificating over a few beers at the rubbity.

Supression doesn't have to take the form of literal infringements on freedom of speech. It is rather that all kinds of perspectives are excluded from mainstream discourse and culture. If you want alternative opinions you usually have to go in search of them. In this ways some perspectives are excluded. On Line Opinion in its inclusiveness is more the exception than the rule.

Cornflower: Thanks for that link:

http://www.abc.net.au/tv/qanda/txt/s2877002.htm

It was really interesting. General Peter Cosgrove was outstanding.

Tristan your article is interesting. In recalling the hardship of your grandfather's experience you might be interested in a parallel presented in this case:

http://www.petition.fm/petitions/helpfred/0/1/

"The point of these stories is to emphasise the extent of the endurance amdist suffering of Australian POWS: soldiers and nurses. The spirit of mateship, especially: of camraderie between soldiers in intolerable conditions; ought never be forgotten. For women, these stories are also crucial: the Second World War was a time of transformation and of perseverance amidst hardship for women as well as men. “Total war” mobilised and impacted upon the lives of women as never before."

Yes, ANZAC day is about - endurance, as well as courage, in the face of evil.

I too think that our national stories can be more inclusive, but I don't see any reason to diminish our ANZACs or their achievements in order to give due acknowledgment to others. All the additional hype from the likes of Henry Reynolds gives me the pip quite frankly. If I read anything of his again I would be checking the references VERY carefully. I also need to add that I have NEVER heard anyone say, much less has it been widely said, (as quoted from Henry Reynolds): "In fact, there are many, many people who will say the nation was born on the shores of Gallipoli. Now, this, I find deeply disturbing..."

Well I find his confabulations deeply disturbing.

I agree with other critics that war is often motivated by economic motives - HOWEVER - we discern that with the benefit of hindsight. That's one of the values of historical enquiry - to help us learn from the past. As such we may well bag out the forces that determined the situation in which people found themselves battling for survival - but that doesn't mean we shouldn't respectfully remember that those individuals, in the context of their time, did their very best with the noblest and most generous of intentions

There's a quaint saying in Nui Dat, in Phuc Toy province, home of Aust's Task Force (1962-72) " Uk da loi cheap charlie. Number ten " translated : Australian's are cheap white trash. The rest is self explanatory.

Intrepid Lt.Col John Bullen ( RMC.Duntroon) chronicles his time in Vietnam in a book." Capt Bullens War ", edited by Paul Ham. Publisher HarperCollins.

It wasn't meant to be a literary masterpiece. It describes the antics of the Officer's Mess and the grunts. His War, like all wars is horrific. If anything, he openly describes the seedier side of young conscripts thrown into another Country's War, and how they found the strength to cope in a Foreign environment. Many didn't. Others returned home physically and mentally drained/wrecked. One a VC winner, became an out-and-out alcoholic, and a social outcast-dropout.

Rehashing Capt Bullen's mea culpa,it seems they lived a life of Riley - wining and dining on crab and French wine. Jollying all over Vietnam to ease his boredom; bedding nursing sisters ; boozing till paralytic; visiting massage parlors; watching the latest movies; attending court martials; enjoying the Oz concerts; calling on brothels; relaxing in the beach resort at Vung Tau.

War is Hell !

Tristan's article is a trenchant reposite to androgynous Anzac Day debunker Marilyn Lakes. History lecturer at La Trobe Uni, and until her expose in the Age, anonymously hidden behind the ivory white towers of Academia. Pugnacious ML strenuously objects to the glorification of the Anzac ethos. Maintaining, it's a macho thing - even as women served in all our Wars. Among other things, she wants the Constitution changed. Go Republic, and all the millions poured into DVA, RSL, Legacy etc to commemorate A Day, rescinded. Predictably, she caught the full blast and bucketing, from all the shock-jocks in Melbourne. They screamed derogate bloody murder. Calling her despicable unprintable names. Asking for her resignation, Party poopers ?

Tristan impugns on Oz's Wars : " threaten our rights, lives and liberties; the human cost involved. Lamenting, the incarceration of POW's. The good fight for the British Empire etc ".

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I think that Anzac Day is good as a day of remembrance but i detest the way it is hyped. I dislike the way people say that we have the Anzacs (and other war veterans) to thank for the freedomes we have in Australia or that the "nation was born on the shores of Gallipoli". It's almost like an untouchable subject and anyone who questions Anzac day is berated or considered "UnAustralian".

GG Quentin Bryce: " never let go of Anzac Day ". Over 7000 Kiwi's and Ozzies attended the Gallipoli ceremony at Anzac Cove. DVA sent a delegation of over 350 bureaucrats, who with the GG, traveled first class, via London, Paris, Rotterdam etc a veritable Cook's tour. Veteran's meanwhile are penalised for earning too much on their exiting 20 year service pensions. C'est la vie.

Every year, since the Turk's modernised the scenario, hordes of pilgrims descend on Gallipoli. Cheap charlie's, they sleep overnight among the graves, huddled in hoodies, parkas. and human warmth. The Turk's complain it takes an army of workers, and garbage disposal trucks to remove 20 tonnes of refuse each and every year ! Paid enormous sums to write, we have produced more Phd's in History, then any country Worldwide. Every regurgitated issue, is becoming more bizarre, with claims of gallantry, heroism, masculanity and hero worship, for children to aspire to ? A lie, embellished to gargantuan proportions to proliferate folklore, to what end ?

Meantime, the tabloids ran stories of youths in Victoria, desecrating cenotaphs, purloining Flags, and creating maniacal havoc. In the ACT, youths dump rubbish, defecate, and paint graffiti on memorials. In Brisbane, youths try to douse the ' eternal flame' by peeing, then fornicating at that holy-of-holiest shibboleth, euphemistically called the Shrine of Remembrance. The media are told to kill the stories.

Whether a myth or folklore, the perpetuation of the Anzac Legend is here to stay. It may come as a surprise, but historian Charles Bean first coined the word " Anzac", to personify the spirit of the two Country's at Gallipoli. They fought separate campaigns. No other Country celebrates the ghastly disaster, even though 7 other Countries participated. Our casualties were less than 40 % of the United Kingdom. Less than France and India. In total 392,500 lives were lost or wounded. A horrendous waste of Human resources and a stomach-churning travesty.

Civilians, journalist, historians, Academia etc cannot differentiate between History and Folklore. Every year, Library's are inundated with newer phantasmagoric publications extolling and glamorizing War. Making hero's on
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