Spider:

Why? We'd only find just as much nationalism in Iran and Cuba. Probably more.

I'm not against paying respects to people who died in WWI or any other war. I'm deeply saddened and respectful of the ordeal they went through.

But using it to appeal to a nationalistic ideal, and claiming it 'defines our nation' is both dangerous and ridiculous in my opinion. And it continually happens, whether you choose to see it or not.

Stabby, the only politician I have ever seen play politics on ANZAC Day was Paul Keating with his Republican comments. Nobody is using ANZAC Day to push nationalism. I can come as a result of but that is okay.

Nobody is leaving a parade to beat up anyone. Waving flags is not threat. Flags have always played a part. It may seem as if flag use has increased but this is due to an increase in numbers attending ANZAC Day. The only people out there politicising ANZAC Day now are the extreme side of multiculturalism who see anything representing Australia as evil.

Leave the politics alone and pay respect. This is for ALL people.

gerrymander,what happened at Gallopoli was wrong.Many Aussies went there with the anticipation of finding glory and adventure.Instead they experienced death and depravity.

It was to be the war to end all wars,but alas this is the nature of a humanity with a chimpanzee ancestory.Just study their social disposition.They also make war on each other.

The ANZAC tradition however is not diminished by the motivations for war,but respect for those who fought for a principle,whether it be right or wrong in our eyes.

If you're not passionate about something in life,it becomes meaningless.The ANZACs showed courage and resolve beyond anything we could imagine and that deserves our respect.

Today many more thousands in Australia die from drugs,car crashes and alcohol abuse,yet they are the silent collateral damage.

Death daily rides on all our shoulders.It is just a matter of time and at what intensity we all want to live our brief interlude called life.

I took my family to the dawn service in Melbourne this year. One couldn’t help but feel a strong sense of solidarity with the throngs making their way to the shrine. The crowds meant we didn’t get close but were in perfect position to see the sun rise over it’s apex. During the stillness of the last post it was natural to reflect on my fathers service and those of my great uncles, one of whom was beheaded by the Japanese during WW2.

The service included addresses given by two young Australians who had visited battlefields around the world. It was clear our youth appear to be adopting a new, more singular vision for the ANZAC tradition. Words such as ‘triumph', 'sacrifice', 'loyalty', 'mateship', and 'pride' abounded.

Our local paper however had printed extracts of speeches made at past ceremonies in our town and it was quite noticeable the reflections on the futility of war in those post conflict years. One of the most poignant passages related the belief by many servicemen and their relatives that the sacrifice of their lives, bodies, and minds was worthwhile because this was the war to end all wars. There were none of these tempering sentiments this year.

Something occurred on the walk to the service that caught me by surprise. A chap in his 20’s appeared with a large Australian flag draped around his shoulders and well I cringed. It just didn’t seem appropriate and not one of the thousands of others I saw in the early morning dimness repeated it. Naturally I had no problem with the flags flying at the shrine, but this act jarred.

Perhaps the images at Cronulla have tainted our flag worn in that manner for me. I understand a different generation is constructing their own stories and relationships with our national symbols. I’m not about to say mine are right because they may well be not be, but they are mine. I know the ‘southern cross’ adorned like that won’t bother me indefinitely, but right now it does.