ANZAC
Today was ANZAC Day in Australia, which is the equivalent of Remembrance Day, except it really is very different. The Aussies really go for it on a big scale. In Melbourne (and other cities) they have a massive great dawn parade of military veterans and current servicemen and a ceremonial march to the Shrine of Remembrance which loads of people turn out to watch. It’s a public holiday. They have wall-to-wall TV coverage (even though it’s basically just a man saying ‘and in Adelaide everyone turned out to watch this… and in Sydney people are now doing that too… and in Perth much the same). The newspapers look ahead to it for weeks beforehand. One of the biggest Aussie Rules games of the season is designated the ANZAC game, and war heroes parade around at the start of the match while 100,000 people applaud them. There is a huge amount of war-hero rhetoric and proud-of-our-nation talk. All in all I would say it’s like about ten Remembrance Days in one.
I’m not completely sure why honouring those who served in war is a much bigger deal here than it is in the UK. Not that we don’t do it in Britain, but it’s not a part of the social calendar, it doesn’t unite the country in the way it does Aussies. I think it may be because Australia is a very young country compared with Britain, and fighting in World Wars I and II was more of a formative experience in terms of defining Australia as a nation. Whereas we had been kicking the shit out of other countries, and vice versa, for about five hundred years already by the time the World Wars came round. But it could also be that Aussies are just better at huge civic celebrations, less cynical, slightly prouder of their country in general.
I’m not even sure that it IS better the way they do it: obviously, it’s important to honour the sacrifices of those who fought and died etc but there are a lot of dangers in the unquestioning deification of soldiers, especially in this day and age when a war is a very different thing and not every war our country fights is, shall we say, heroic. Still, I’m interested in the cultural difference between our relationship with the World Wars, and the Aussies’. If you have experience of both, please feel free to chip in. Or either. Or any thoughts on war. Or if anything cool and non-war-related happened to you today, share that instead. I have arrived in Sydney. Bye for now.
Posted by Another Andrew on April 27, 2011
As a fairly recently emigrated Pom to the shores of Oz I too find the whole Anzac Day experience fascinating. On one level I like the fact that my daughter from 4 years old was taught at school that it’s to remember the people who’ve died in wars. I like that she and her classmates take part in a sombre ceremony marking this at the local dawn service. Kids should know this history, they can’t lessons from it otherwise.
I worry about some of the more jingoistic, flag waving aspects of it however. It shouldn’t be about nationalism or triumphalism but about quiet reflection and respect. When you see Tour Groups of ‘Fanatics” (ordinarily a group who supports Aussie sporting teams around the globe) at Galippoli for the dawn service wearing an Aussie flag as a cape and dressed in green and gold I suspect they’ve missed the point. It looks like a pilgrimage to make and wear as a badge of honour about just how AUSTRALIAN you are. That way danger lies IMO, you can see that in some of the more dubious behaviour on Australia Day.
Posted by Rachel on April 26, 2011
About 24 hours late but never mind…
I’ve been thinking about war a lot recently, actually, and quite surprisingly to anyone that knows me. I started by Auschwitz/Holocaust research a few days ago as I’m visiting Auschwitz-Birkenau in June/July and want to know about it. Plus, I’m running for the college’s Amnesty Group President role tomorrow and a lot of stuff we do is war-based. I suppose war is one of those things that you will never truly understand unless you a) experience it or b) experience something very closely related.
Posted by Rachael on April 26, 2011
Im not really sure but I think probably it is worth celebrating like that for soldiers more than it is for a wedding, just because the groom happened to be born into a particular family. And I like the biscuits.
Posted by Andrew on April 26, 2011
I think you raise an interesting issue, which is that the commemorations are tied in with a sense of national identity, and Britain (and even moreso England) is weighed down with a sense of post-imperialist guilt and embarrassment at the last couple of centuries which just doesn’t apply in Australia. Nor for that matter, yet, in America. It would be interesting to see whether the US is quite so ebullient in, say, 2150.
Some non-war issues for your perusal:
1) On 10 O’Clock Live recently, someone stated that social mobility in America is low, lower even than here (and it’s bad enough here). If this is true, then it would somewhat give the lie to the old “in this country anyone can achieve anything” line which they trot out incessantly. However, is it true, how does one measure such things, can any of your readers provide substantive evidence one way or the other?
2) Football. I know this is a controversial one, but I wish that once in a while you would write about football here. It seems such a wilful denial of a fundamental part of what makes you who you are. I’m not saying this is the place for an in-depth dissection of the Bristol City back four, but the occasional general discussion wouldn’t go amiss, surely? For example, I am willing Schalke to beat Manchester Utd as one in the eye for my nephew, who supports them in spite of having been born and raised in Oxford. I think allowing him to support them smacks of bad parenting (I’m only just joking) and lack of community spirit. He should support Oxford Utd. Discuss.
3) Did you get to choose both support acts on your One Night Stand?
Posted by Holly on April 26, 2011
I do believe for Australians ANZAC day is about being proud of the Australian spirit that was birthed from the wars. You are right is saying Mark, that we are very young and that those events were a huge part of shaping our identity. The strongest sentiment to come out of ANZAC is a thank you for giving us the Australia, and New Zealand, we live in today, and it’s a sudden and concentrated realisation of what and who we are. and how lucky we are as a nation and how damn proud we are of the type of people we are.
I was at the Essendon Collingwood ANZAC day footy match and it is very hard to describe the intensity of 90,000 people stand, silent listening to the Last post and then the Reveille. No one will ever say that war is a good thing (I’m pretty confident in that generlisation), we are just so proud of how we as Australians behaved and performed in the war. Even if we did get a scallywag sort of reputation- I like that.
Basically we are incredibly saddened that people had to lose their lives to protect the future of ours. And we do not want to ever seem ungrateful for that sacrifice because we loving living as Australians in our Australia.
Wow, that came out heavier than I intended. It’s just that for me personally, whilst war most certainly shows the very worst of human nature, as Australian’s we showed some of the best things there are about human nature. We are pretty awesome.
Even if Essendon did lose, that was due to shitty umpiring.
Posted by Alex on April 26, 2011
Today I drove to Leeds from Birmingham, which is pretty good for someone who had never driven on a motorway two weeks ago.
And then my friend phoned me because he’d forgotten your name and it was annoying him.
I might comment on the war thing when I can gather my thoughts enough to form an argument. I do think things about this though.
Posted by Patrick on April 25, 2011
Misha- thank you for stopping me thinking I was the only one who felt like that
Posted by Nuala on April 25, 2011
I spent ANZAC Day in Darwin 18 years ago but don’t really remember seeing any commemorations. Possibly the fact that it was my birthday may be something to do with it. Also, my mum makes the best ANZAC biscuits in the world!
Posted by Cat on April 25, 2011
I think it’s very important to honour the people who have fought for us and is a big deal for these people who have lost lives, limbs and mental stability over the war. I don’t think it’s really them we should blame for the stupidness of a lot of the wars we go into. More the people who send them into the war in the first place.It’s a very messy disgusting business and if it were up to me I wouldn’t send anyone to war. But those people who do are pretty brave. I’m not very brave. I’ll stay at home and cower thanks.
In my other news I had wayy too much easter chocolate today.
Posted by Misha on April 25, 2011
I can never decide how I feel about war related things. Rememberance Day, ANZAC Day, Help for Heroes etc. On the one hand, yes a great number of brave men and women fought and died for their respective countries to do what they thought was right. On the other, i’m still never quite sure about how just some of it is in the first place.
Obviously in the case of things like the second world war the Nazi’s were undeniably horrible, but having studied it in detail for 2 years at a-level, well that only really came out of the 1st world war, which itself was a build up of various messes to do with the collapsing ottoman empire and Balkan unrest. Which all traces back to absolute monarchy and land grabbing bastards, and really, if we were all just nicer to each other to begin with, there might never have been all these wars.
Although of course knowing human nature I suppose we’d have found something else to fight about. That seems to be the way of things. But it’s sort of interesting the whole, deification of soldiers, especially in Australia, perhaps because there aren’t the other usual national identifiers older countries have? England has it’s Kings and Queens etc, things like St George, St Patrick, St David and St Andrew. Although the discussion about why St Patrick is so widely celebrated and St George largely ignored is another entirely.
I don’t really know. And this has become a rather over-long comment. In non war news, I cleared out my childhood bedroom and painted a wall today. I also pruned the garden.
Posted by issey on April 25, 2011
Non-war-related comment: just finished a mammoth essay today. Pretty pleased because I’m not really one for writing!
Posted by Anthony on April 25, 2011
Nice write up, I’m anti war and have today lunched this pilot comedy sitcom, to bring some laughter into the world.
See what you think?
http://www.vimeo.com/22798418
Thanks