They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old/ Age shall not weary them, nor the years condem...Laurence Binyon.
ANZAC Day always leaves me conflicted. I admire the young men & women who went to war & fought against incredible odds ~ & their own leaders stupidity. I also happen to think they were incredibly mistaken. I admire those who refused to go & kill their fellow man & got handed yellow feathers or worse. I happen to think there is always a better alternative to war ~ but the unravelling of that thread goes all the way back to Cain & Abel.
At different times I have marched in Dawn Services. My poppy was with the Gordons in 1916; my father was a pilot airlifting diggers out of PNG. My Uncle Norman died in Indonesia. On both sides of the family the men were farmers. Killing did not come naturally to them. They paid a price.
I no longer march. I don't think Ditz & I have ever done a study on ANZAC Day ~ but we have studied the wars & their consequences. I have unusual views on both. She lives here, sees the news, has partaken in a service once or twice herself. No big fuss. No major history lesson. The war simply slots into it's alloted place in the bigger picture.
Tomorrow the Diggers will don their slouch hats & their pristine uniforms & parade down our streets in memory of a mistake that cost far more lives than it was worth ~ & it was a mistake. They landed in the wrong place & should have been pulled out immediately because it was unwinnable from a military point of view. Don't get me started on Vietnam or how the English should have dealt with the Germans after WWI in order to have averted WWII!
I am allowed my traiterous & ill~informed views but tomorrow my boy will be one of those parading in uniform down Melbourne's streets. When his training is over he will probably be headed Afghanistan way. Do I think he is mistaken? You bet your booties I do. Do I think he is wrong? Most assuredly. Am I proud of him? More than I can say. That is the end point of the whole sorry exercise, isn't it? He can march & I can not because this is a free country & the world being the way it is other people have paid the price for us to disagree in peace. For every soldier who marches tomorrow there is a whole family; for every fallen soldier a whole family who grieved; for every soldier returned suffering post traumatic stress a community affected. We can never afford to forget. It should never be allowed to happen again ~ & it will. That is the saddest thing of all.
16 comments:
I don't know what I would have done if my son had enlisted. Service to one's country is honorable. The wars are not, IMO. You have my sympathy and you have my respect for the pride you feel in your son. May he be safe and may you have some peace with this.
Ganeida... I am sorry. I know how this has to be tearing you up right now esp. with the pacifist Quaker background. He's going somewhere dangerous and turning away from his heritage. I don't know what to say except that all of us Christians are not the same and don't have the same convictions. Your son needs to find his own way and figure out what his convictions are. SO trite to say, but you are all in my prayers this weekend. :(
Sandra: God in his grace gave me 3 sons; only one is in the military ~ for which I am profusely grateful. One is more than enough.
MrsC: the military has been good for this child ~ but I'd still rather he wasn't there. None of my children have my pacifist leanings. They are all more warrior types. lol The problem is they are also marshmellow pussycats & would not come out of any military engagement well. My biggest concern for this one is the afterwards stuff. I can't see that he would cope well & the army is not strong on debriefing.
I teach Jemimah about Anzac Day so that she will never forget the atrocity of war. Because that is what it is.
I am proud of my Grandpa. My husband is proud of his. One was terribly wounded; the other never came home. War must not be glorified - it should never be allowed to happen again. But it will.
I am glad you are proud of your boy too. We are free in this country because of young men and women like him.
Lest we forget.
War...just one inevitability of human nature, unfortunately. I so very much respect your views and I was raised in Amish country, a people who share pacifist convictions. I would never want to force anyone to be in the service who is against it, however I believe in the right to protect my family also. It is not that I do not trust God to do it, but having been abused as a child, perhaps I have a different perspective about what it takes at times to defend those who cannot defend themselves. And so, although I do not believe all wars are necessary, I also do not believe that war is never necessary, at least not with the state of mankind as it has been, is, and continues to be in this existence. I am very thankful for those who serve in the military...very thankful. Prayers for your son and your entire family.
Jeanne: I think we come at this from very different angles but reach similar conclusions in the end. BTW you should hear what my boy thinks of Melbourne! lol Nothing complimentary i'm afraid but he's a Queenslander through & through! ☺
Seeking: One of the hardest passages for me in scripture is the one where God tells the Israelite army to wipe out everything from the opposing army: the sheep, the cattle, the grain, every man, woman & child. I understand the reasoning but I have an overactive imagination & it just apalls me. Yet often the same people who have no qualms about what the military does would object strenously to the suggestion we not open our immigration policy to those of a different faith ~ yet by opening those immigration doors we allow idolatory into the country. I would rather the small conflict in order to prevent a greater one later on.
May God keep your precious boy safe, Ganeida.
My thoughts are similar to Jeanne's. I thing the monumental "stuff ups" are well known in each of the wars and that the Gallipoli mistakes make it even more tragic , poignant and worth rememebering for our men.
Very few would find that killing others comes easily. I know my Grandand carried the scars both physically and emotionally all his 91 years in an era when men did not talk about the horros they had witnessed much at all.
We will remember them.
Amen sister--to all of it! This is my second year to make ANZAC biscuits and to wear a red poppy. DH's grandfather and his brother served in WWI--neither was ever the same. They both died years later as a result of lung complications from the gas. I loved this post. Beautiful. Thank you for sharing.
Not completely certain what ANZAC day is, but I get the general idea.... You and I share almost identical views on war both in the general and specific. I try not to think about it unless absolutely necessary. I have a nephew who is currently in training for the Army Special Forces (which is the super elite branch of the our army.) The training alone takes years and is grueling beyond imagination... some of the stories he has shared will just curl your hair and turn your stomach. And that's only the training! I'm very glad he will be well prepared for the hard work he will have to do, but still it seems like such a waste in a way. This young man was just a semester short of getting his doctorate in biochemistry when he decided to take up! We are all incredibly proud of him... but still incredibly heartbroken at the same time.
I don't know what I'd do if Noah ever enlisted.
Ruby: I just get angry at the stupidity & waste of it all.
Bonnie: the gas was just inhumane ~ a slow cruel death years after.
Diane: Yep. Jossie's doing computer warfare stuff. Elitist ~ but the focal point of any attack on his unit. One of the few things to get me really riled up is someone taking pot shots at one of my kids ~ in this case quite literally. My Dearest says any pollie who votes for a war should be in the front line of the initial attack. Figure that would solve most of our problems! ☺
I think your husband has an excellent point. On the other hand, many a battle had its leader actually leading the battle and that did not stop the fighting. It seems that conflict is inescapable.
I think that the only way not to have it is to be completely indifferent, particularly to the treatment others would bestow at their whim, those who are not indifferent and would seek to conquer, enslave, and maltreat others. When faced with that prospect...I know I could not be indifferent enough.
Seeking: And that has always been one of the driving principles behind Quakerism!☺ One cannot be indifferent but how one reacts makes a difference & so since their inception there have been many Quakers at the forefront of things like abolishing slavery, the Peace Corps, Amnesty International ~ & during war time, in the medical corp, as stretcher bearers & Red Cross workers, nurses & doctors. One may not be able to stop the conflict but one not only need not contribute to it, one can work actively for peace & help those injured by the conflict. Pacifist is actually an incorrect term for Quakers. It is more non~violent. Great things can be done through non~violence as both Gahndi & Christ testify.
From my understanding Anzac Day is like Memorial Day, just a month earlier.
What an amazing position you are in. I have two sons, so far they haven't joined up. I know adjusting to children growing up requires lots of thought, and I know you are very good at thinking out the issue. Still it must be hard.
It did occur to me that you could come down and visit your son and stay with me. Melbourne has fantastic bookshops!! What fun we'd have!!!
Linda: Thank you for contributing to this discussion. ☺ Nice to *see* you again.
Jeanne: it occurred to me too. ☺ I wish I could get away but at present I am sorting stamps with Dearest.
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