Anzac Day deconstructed
Those who know me well (and there are not a lot of those about) would be aware that one of my main purposes for postponing my suicide is to culture jam Anzac Day.
So, to further that aim, I ask you to consider the following:
Rear Admiral Tim Barrett was heard on TV saying "...celebrating our fighting prowess..."
So... Anzac Day is about "celebrating"? (Oh yeah, I'm celebrating all right...) And it's about "our fighting prowess" is it? (They didn't show a shot of his genital region, but I would not have been surprised to see a massive erection distorting the cut of his naval uniform.) What a man !!! Now, about those recent sexual assault cases the Navy has had to deal with...
And then we have my old mate, Cardinal Pell, who is quoted in the Sydney Morning Herald as saying that "Anzac Day represents the legend of Australia" (whatever that means), and he went on (as he is wont to do) to say that this legend stands for "a devotion to duty and a preparedness to put yourself on the line for what you believe in." He fails to explain how this "legend" is any different to those which motivated the Nazis, the dreaded communists, the Taliban, or al Qaeda.
And another thing: Who in their right mind thought it was a good idea to have a column of US Marines marching with our diggers in Darwin's Anzac Day parade? So now our imperial masters are part of the propaganda circus that Anzac Day has become? I feel sick!
In closing, I'd like to share with you a letter I had published in the local paper on Anzac Day:
Anzac Day is upon us again.
Again, we will witness politicians and religious leaders
around the country failing to denounce our participation in
wars we should never have joined.
Again, we will hear countless "patriots" regurgitate that
hypnotic propaganda phrase "they served their country"
when in fact they served the imperial agenda of a foreign
power to which we should have had the guts to firmly say
"No way!".
Again, we will hear nebulous terms such as "freedom" and
"democracy" done to death in an orgy of self-congratulation.
Again, the sombre remembrance of the dead and the futility
of war will be replaced by marching bands, chest-puffed
strutting, clapping and cheering, in yet another obscene
display of war-justification.
Or, for something different this year, the Gazzette could
print the lyrics of Eric Bogle's sobering song "And The Band
Played Waltzing Matilda" as part of its Anzac Day feature.
(You can also listen to that song on YouTube as you crack
your patriotic tinny.)
So, to further that aim, I ask you to consider the following:
Rear Admiral Tim Barrett was heard on TV saying "...celebrating our fighting prowess..."
So... Anzac Day is about "celebrating"? (Oh yeah, I'm celebrating all right...) And it's about "our fighting prowess" is it? (They didn't show a shot of his genital region, but I would not have been surprised to see a massive erection distorting the cut of his naval uniform.) What a man !!! Now, about those recent sexual assault cases the Navy has had to deal with...
And then we have my old mate, Cardinal Pell, who is quoted in the Sydney Morning Herald as saying that "Anzac Day represents the legend of Australia" (whatever that means), and he went on (as he is wont to do) to say that this legend stands for "a devotion to duty and a preparedness to put yourself on the line for what you believe in." He fails to explain how this "legend" is any different to those which motivated the Nazis, the dreaded communists, the Taliban, or al Qaeda.
And another thing: Who in their right mind thought it was a good idea to have a column of US Marines marching with our diggers in Darwin's Anzac Day parade? So now our imperial masters are part of the propaganda circus that Anzac Day has become? I feel sick!
In closing, I'd like to share with you a letter I had published in the local paper on Anzac Day:
Anzac Day is upon us again.
Again, we will witness politicians and religious leaders
around the country failing to denounce our participation in
wars we should never have joined.
Again, we will hear countless "patriots" regurgitate that
hypnotic propaganda phrase "they served their country"
when in fact they served the imperial agenda of a foreign
power to which we should have had the guts to firmly say
"No way!".
Again, we will hear nebulous terms such as "freedom" and
"democracy" done to death in an orgy of self-congratulation.
Again, the sombre remembrance of the dead and the futility
of war will be replaced by marching bands, chest-puffed
strutting, clapping and cheering, in yet another obscene
display of war-justification.
Or, for something different this year, the Gazzette could
print the lyrics of Eric Bogle's sobering song "And The Band
Played Waltzing Matilda" as part of its Anzac Day feature.
(You can also listen to that song on YouTube as you crack
your patriotic tinny.)
posted by The Editor at
6:52 PM
4 Comments:
mmm, will you allow me to agree with you on this one.
As well as Eric Bogle's "and the band plated ..", could we add ".. I was only 19" and Fred Smith's "Sands of Uruzgan"
Great stuff, I agreed with most of your harangue.
Did notice during the wars I served in that God changed his allegiance quite frequently.
By the time the Gallipoli Campaign ended, over 120,000 men had died. More than 80,000 Turkish soldiers and 44,000 British and French and Indian soldiers, including over 8,500 Australians. Among the dead were 2,721 New Zealanders, about a quarter of those who had landed on the peninsula.
Yep , I was (Only 19) and one month when the big one ended in 45. Been in the Royal Navy since 15.5 years and at sea from very early 17.. Swing that lamp.
Main memories: Freezing cold,Boiling Hot, lousy Chow, Stukas, Kamikazes and dysentery.
Oh and Sydney Chicks.
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
==========
<<<<< Home
==========