I hate to say it, but I can’t wait till this ANZAC Day is over. Because quite frankly the media saturation and overexposure is making the day seem less significant to me, and I don’t like that. I don’t like that it is making me think less of the day than I usually do.
ANZAC Day should be about remembering the sacrifices our troop shave made in the past, not trying to assert that Gallipoli was some intrinsic part of our becoming a nation. Other countries have had events in their past that were necessary for them to have become the nation that they were; the United States for instance celebrate Independence Day as a formative event in their history. It truly did impact the nation that they became, and is an integral part of their culture.
ANZAC Day is different. Yes we can remember and celebrate the fact that our nations fighting forces were willing to make sacrifices for their country, but let’s not try and make the fact that it happened 100 years ago more important than the actual people involved. And let’s not try and say that so much of our nation’s amazing culture is tied up in this particular bit of military history. Our culture is a flowing, changing and developing thing; it wasn’t set in stone 100 years ago.
So tomorrow I will be remembering the sacrifice that my great grandfather, and many others past and present, made in service of their country, and not celebrating some faux nationalistic ideal.
There; rant complete. Does anyone else feel this way?