Lest we forget (on all sides)

Posted on April 27, 2004 by Ken Parish
Posted in Uncategorised

Paul and Carl are a couple of self-styled "hideous curmudgeons" whose views are well to the right of this armadillo (I might conceivably sound a tad similar by the time I'm their age, although not if "B" is around to take the piss out of some of my more pretentious opinionated rants). I don't monitor Paul and Carl's blog all that often, but maybe I should. A post by Paul titled An Anzac Day Essay provides a very personal perspective on the meaning of Anzac Day. It's a fine piece of personal/political blogging and you'd be well advised to read it.

1 Comments

  1. Norman
    May 3, 2004

    I still see aspects of Anzac Day much the same as I did in the 40s. I've always been sceptical about the sort of theatrical nationalism which can become associated with celebrations of any sort. There has, however, been a significant loss since those days. The 'theatrical' aspect has grown, but we've lost much of the spontaneous gratitude once felt for Australians who had volunteered to defend us. I sometimes feel the nation has thrown out the baby, but increased and sanctified the bathwater. The malaise is not confined to Anzac Day, but part of a much wider and more general malaise, belittling all those whose efforts and sacrifices in the past, have enabled us to lead our current pleasant lifestyles. "Lest We Forget", can be applied these days to far more than Anzac Day.