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The Forum > Article Comments > Thoughts on the commemoration of Anzac Day > Comments

Thoughts on the commemoration of Anzac Day : Comments

By Peter Wigg, published 20/4/2016

I wish to question the current relevance of the commemoration, not wanting it to be an empty spectacle, or a celebration of war itself.

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Hi Armchair.

Sure, no conscription for the Great War. But according to my wife's grandmother there were white feathers homing in on letter boxes where the male sons were still at home, in rural northern Victoria.

No conscription but the social pressure was on the boil. As well a lot went for the adventure. No jobs, a drab life in the sticks, and the stories which got back from those already in Egypt, ... The myth making these days do not apply the same pressure, but they condition the populace for blokes like Howard to be able to send our troops to Iraq to face their fate, with no oversight from the Parliament.

The myth making around ANZAC is probably no less harmful to our society than the myths which surrounded the manliness of smoking, and perhaps the goodness of sugar.

It might be a long bow, but it is the sort of mentality that would make some zealous Aussies to feel that it is all right to send a few would be-heroes to Lebanon to abduct those two Aussie/Lebanese kids
Posted by Chek, Thursday, 21 April 2016 1:53:28 PM
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Suse,
Obama isn't an African American, he's not descended from slaves but speaking of warmongers...
Posted by Jay Of Melbourne, Thursday, 21 April 2016 2:57:17 PM
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Chek, I'd disagree.
The only mythology used to justify the most recent Iraq, Libya and Syria adventures are the myths of equality, parliamentary democracy as a social good and a universal set of values applicable to all people.
The ANZAC myth doesn't even enter into the debate at present the more potent narrative is the Western position on the religion of Islam and their attempts to moderate the permanent civil war within the faith and mitigate it's effects on non Muslim societies.
That's the core of the issue, ever since Islam appeared Europeans have been providing aid to some factions and tribes and warring with others, it's true the Ottoman empire was our adversary in 1915 but in 1853 Turkey and it's satellites were allied with France and the UK in the Crimean War.
Posted by Jay Of Melbourne, Thursday, 21 April 2016 3:17:42 PM
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The hyprocracy and deciet of the military tradition.

The military forces recruit entrants by selling careers and learning new skills. I am aware that many courts offer young men a sentence in prison or a term in the army as an alternative, many offered that choice, choose the army. Many of the people who join the military have no real intention of going off to war during their time in the military.

When it suits the powers that should not be, they draft people into the military against their will.

When they die, the powers that should be, use such propagandistic phrases such as "these brave soldiers who GAVE THEIR LIVES for our freedom, or other such similar rubbish.

Making such claims is a plain straight out lie. These soldiers died because our govt sent them off to a foreign land to kill and or be killed, there is no other way of accurately describing it.

When young men are drafted into the military against their will, such a claim becomes even more of a cruel lie.

The following is a direct quote on the draft from the book "Silent Weapons for Quiet War." It tells us what the powers that should not be really think of the soldiers who went to Gallipoli, Vietnam and the rest.
Posted by Referundemdrivensocienty, Thursday, 21 April 2016 5:10:09 PM
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I reckon we don't need no allies no longer to kowtow to.

We need good, solid, indigenous, Nuclear Weapons to justly defend Australia.

Like Israel with its Nukes, keep on fighting till peace breaks out.

ANZAC Day could be Fusion Boosted Plutonium Day!

Catchy.
Posted by plantagenet, Thursday, 21 April 2016 5:36:23 PM
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Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears.

The great General Patton made several stirring speeches to his men in 1943-44 - when his wasn't slapping them upside their heads.

Here's one pithy fwase he immortally uttered:

"No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. You won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country."

See Patton's speech in less than 3 minutes at https://youtu.be/sv9XNFpRdhg?t=40s

Respect!
Posted by plantagenet, Friday, 22 April 2016 2:10:37 AM
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