Jase71
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There's already considerable murmurings throughout AHB regarding ANZAC Day, so how about a thread specific to what it means to members, so as to avoid Off-topic rants?
Unlike Christmas/Easter etc where there are alternate 'meanings' behind the occasion not specific to the origin of Christianity (ie time with family, time off work etc), this year's ANZAC day isn't a day off for most people, so there's no 'convenience' time to have that barbie with mates, or just chill out. I just know someone will chime in and say that they're getting paid holiday rates for working that day, but let's put that aside for now, shall we, and discuss 'what ANZAC Day means to you'.......
Is ANZAC Day a time to remember the fallen soldiers that fought, not by choice in many cases (the zeitgeist was a such that non-conscripted men & women felt compelled, so it may as well have been forced), but by obligation, to preserve some sense of 'freedom' that we are living in as a society, or is it simply a tradition that will eventually be phased out as time marches on ? Do we honour those people who have died in recent conflicts - armed servicemen & women who made the career choice to joined the armed services knowing full well the implications of their trade ? I would hate to be an old man in 30 years from now and hear people honouring those who fought in Timor, Iraq or Afghanistan, because there is simply no threat to our so called 'freedom', and those soldiers made the choice to be part of a military establishment.
Don't misread my intent here, this isn't an opening to a thread that's intended to ruffle feathers by intention - although that's going to be inevitable. But how long do we continue to honour World War One veterans with a national day of pride when there simply aren't any left to honour ?
The last war in which our countrymen were forced to take part in was the second Indochina conflict (or the "Vietnam War" for those of you unfamiliar with the terminology). And there wasn't really any threat of big-bad-communism, was there ? It was simply a popular TV war in which Australia was obliged to fall into line with another country's paranoid ideal that this was a war that, by all contemporary accounts, should never have been allowed to happen.
And ultimately, do we really have freedom today in 2009 ? Today's enemy is far more subtle in it's offensive strategy.
Unlike Christmas/Easter etc where there are alternate 'meanings' behind the occasion not specific to the origin of Christianity (ie time with family, time off work etc), this year's ANZAC day isn't a day off for most people, so there's no 'convenience' time to have that barbie with mates, or just chill out. I just know someone will chime in and say that they're getting paid holiday rates for working that day, but let's put that aside for now, shall we, and discuss 'what ANZAC Day means to you'.......
Is ANZAC Day a time to remember the fallen soldiers that fought, not by choice in many cases (the zeitgeist was a such that non-conscripted men & women felt compelled, so it may as well have been forced), but by obligation, to preserve some sense of 'freedom' that we are living in as a society, or is it simply a tradition that will eventually be phased out as time marches on ? Do we honour those people who have died in recent conflicts - armed servicemen & women who made the career choice to joined the armed services knowing full well the implications of their trade ? I would hate to be an old man in 30 years from now and hear people honouring those who fought in Timor, Iraq or Afghanistan, because there is simply no threat to our so called 'freedom', and those soldiers made the choice to be part of a military establishment.
Don't misread my intent here, this isn't an opening to a thread that's intended to ruffle feathers by intention - although that's going to be inevitable. But how long do we continue to honour World War One veterans with a national day of pride when there simply aren't any left to honour ?
The last war in which our countrymen were forced to take part in was the second Indochina conflict (or the "Vietnam War" for those of you unfamiliar with the terminology). And there wasn't really any threat of big-bad-communism, was there ? It was simply a popular TV war in which Australia was obliged to fall into line with another country's paranoid ideal that this was a war that, by all contemporary accounts, should never have been allowed to happen.
And ultimately, do we really have freedom today in 2009 ? Today's enemy is far more subtle in it's offensive strategy.