The Pity of ANZAC Day

Yeah I know ANZAC Day is on April 25th, but I'm a little tardy here. For any overseas readers - ANZAC stands for Australian & New Zealand Army Corps & ANZAC Day is a national day of remembrance/holiday commemorating the efforts and sacrifices of the armed services. In particular the ANZAC myth or legend focuses on the hardships, heroism & efforts of the ANZAC soliders or ANZACs during the Dardanelles Campaign of the First World War, fought on the beaches and hills of Gallipoli, Turkey. Every year thousands of Australians & New Zealanders flock to the shores of Gallipoli to commemorate this day. There are marches of veterans of other conflicts (WWII, Korea, Vietnam, The Gulf Wars) in cities across Australia.

It's good that people remember these sacrifices made during past conflicts. What is bad is that beyond the flag waving, & solemnity, there is virtually no thought, consideration, or reflection as to why these sacrifices were needed in the first place. The original ANZACs at Gallipoli were tough & courageous yes, but why were they invading another sovereign country? Was it actually about freedom, democracy, protecting Australia & NZ or rather allegiance to the British Empire & its geopolitical imperatives vis a vis the central powers, the European Balance of Power & the prevention of German hegemony? Who knows? Moreover it seems, who even cares? There's a scene in Peter Weir's movie, 'Gallipoli' where the ANZACs are asking themselves why they are over there. One of them says something along the lines of "Gee I dunno, some guy shot some Archduke or something."

I remember reading about an old WWII veteran and his granddaughter who attended an ANZAC Day march together back in 2003. The old vet was of the opinion that Australia shouldn't be involved in the war in Iraq on the grounds that it was outside Australia's sphere of interest, we had no beef with Iraq, and it might make matters worse - fair enough, some geopolitical & ethical considerations there whether you agree or disagree. However his granddaughter, though admitting to not understanding the issues supported the decision to send troops based on faith in the Prime Minister. This is the pity of ANZAC Day. All that time waving little flags, not enough time to think issues through & to become informed, but just enough conditioning & blind faith so that whenever the brazen trumpet sounds, there's an almost pavlovian response along the tired lines of "It's our patriotic duty. We've got to fight like the ANZACs did. They did their duty & so must we." If we really do value the sacrifices of the ANZACs don't we owe it to them & ourselves to become better informed about issues surrounding conflicts? Shouldn't we try to learn from the past. Shouldn't we know why we employ force and for what purposes, objectives, and prospects?

There is also another disturbing aspect to ANZAC day of late. In recent years the 'dumbing down' & commercialisation of ANZAC Day has become particularly pronounced. The younger generation have taken to it with a collective gusto. Visiting ANZAC Cove at Gallipoli has become the new must-do pilgrimage almost as obligatory as the extended backpacking holiday to the UK. There were proposals to fly over the singer John Farnham to give a special 'ANZAC Concert', then there is the annual 'ANZAC Day Australian Rules Football game', the other day I saw ANZAC commemorative coins at the Post Office. ANZAC Day is good business ...