it's about the Anzac spirit being slowly eroded away.
+1. I ummed and erred about posting, I am not trying to antagonise, I just find the topic really interesting. I acknowledge my previous post was certainly antagonistic, but it has rightly been rebutted so I have been forced to think out my stance. And I love that.
Too true, standing up for ideals, courage in the face of tyranny and overwhelming odds. A real and genuine attempt at the embodiment of freedom, a real and genuine attempt at individual liberation, not just a capitalist quagmire. The ANZAC spirit embodies all of these things as well as the notion that everyone can get a "fair go", of the little Aussie battler, of helping out those in need, standing by your mates. So what happens when, in a booming post-war economy (and then to the present day) all of these ideals come under risk from a variety of political (and I mean that in the broadest possible sense) interests? Do we just move to Canada or do we stand up and exercise the very rights and freedoms that were fought for? If we do not appreciate, respect and utilise the concept of inherent, immanent rights of the person that the diggers helped establish (and great respect to those to this very day who are still serving the nation that stands for these ideals even if the ideals are under threat and in times where their safety is challnged in ever more pernicious and deadly ways), then those rights and ideals will be eroded along with the ANZAC spirit. And these are universal ideals and rights that we can proudly say as Australians we are able to exercise and enjoy far more than most other people on the planet.
To qoute the great Bazza "the best little place in the world, no risk".
So to a point I agree with the sentiment but unfortunately I think it is worded in such way that is
easily abused and used in place of meaningful contribution. I also think that (if we all could really be bothered) that the slogan is American in origin and that a great deal of their libertarian notions came from France, and arguably it is dogmatic misconstrual (e.g. quoting "right to bear arms" but leaving out "a well regulated militia being necassary to the security of a free state") of the revolutionary ideals of northern Europe anyway. "Don't tread on me" meant something once, but it is now verging on hypocritical.
"Australia" is a huge term with a heap of semantics and it doesn't just mean Government, but the ideals that make this country great are the same ones that allows me to say with great pride I am a patriotic Australian, and I love this country enough to voice my opinion if I think the policy-makers are getting it wrong.
The knee-jerk stuff on tv from the USA isn't patriotism. Patriotism by definition is to do with defending rights, rights are based on concepts of justice and justice by it's very nature is tied to ethics and morality. I like my morality served on a steaming hot bed of logic and reasoning, not a crusty bread roll of religious dogma.
Anyway, big posts don't get read and that is just my opinion, I respect all others and as an Australian whose state has formally adopted a charter of indivdual rights derived from the UDHR I respect and support everyone's freedom to have a well considered and informed opinion about whatever they like. :icon_cheers:
