It’s ANZAC Day in Australia where the anniversary of the World War One landings in Gallipoli marks the first national action of the then new nation.
At its heart, ANZAC Day remembers sacrifice and bravery. The men and women who volunteered for the Great War and all those that have followed over the last hundred years were prepared to sacrifice relationships, safe careers and their lives to protect the King or Country from the threats of the Kaiser, Hitler, Japan, Communism or Terrorism.
We should remember though that those politicians saying fine words today and posing for photo opportunities at the landing beaches are the much the same people who started an unnecessary war in 1914 and many of those wars since.
Compare the words of Billy Hughes supporting Australian conscription in 1915 and the words of John Howard or Julia Gillard.
Stripped of spin doctors’ dressing and the words of today’s politicians are the same. Only the empire has changed.
Today’s politicians know of concepts like sacrifice, patriotism and bravery, exploiting them can prove handy at election time.
Luckily for most of them their political and business careers rarely call for such qualities.
Hopefully our children won’t find themselves in the trenches – or fall out shelters – to meet the short term gains of an Obama, Cameron or Gillard and their corporate friends.
The real lesson of ANZAC Day, Veterans Day and all the other national days of remembrance around the world for those every nation has lost in battle is that war is the final act and represents a failure by the Kings, Presidents and Prime Ministers who choose to lead us.
They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.
Lest We Forget