Relevance
Ok, time for a good old-fashioned reactive piece.
Oftentimes, when I get bored of the vast CD collection I keep in my car, I often supplement my listening with whatever is on the radio. Usually it’s the Government-funded alternative-youth channel, Triple J, which I tune into, and why not. It plays the best music on the radio. No pop, lots of dance and alternative, and, when it’s not playing, the discussion is usually interesting banter about real issues. None of this flippant bullshit we hear about celebrities on the commercial stations.
This morning, the topic of ANZAC day was discussed. If you live outside Australia, ANZAC Day is our national day of remembrance for the fallen soldiers. It is held every year on April 25, which was the day the Anzacs, as they are called, landed at Suvla Bay, on the Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey, during the First World War now 95 years ago. The fact that the battle was a death struggle, resulting in the deaths of 8000 young men from Australia and New Zealand, and the fact that the battle ended in tragedy and humiliation, encapsulates the sombre mood of the day.
Since then, it has been held nationally to commemorate not just the sacrifices of the living and the dead of Gallipoli, but those made by Australians in every war we have been involved since, be it the second world war, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq or Afghanistan. It gives Australia a chance to say thank you to those who gave so much, whether it be the years of hard service fighting, or their lives, for the love of their country.
However, each year, there is always some sort of controversy surrounding this day. Being a British Colony, Australia fought closely alongside the British Expeditionary Forces during World War I, and as such, were British citizens during that time. So, naturally, each year, on Anzac day, the British National Anthem is sung alongside that of the Australian National Anthem at Anzac Day services.
However, because of the nature of modern Australia, with it’s strong drive towards republicanism, people often question whether this is necessary. They forget that Australia being a British Colony is a major factor in what it means to be Australian, and, because of such a drive away from the monarchy, believe that God Save the Queen should be spurned because of this.
I find this sad and dismaying, especially since this has already been implemented in Victoria as an official policy. But what disturbs me the most is the public’s own lack of vision. Many people do not realise the deep disrespect they are showing when they are unwilling to sing this song, because to many older Australians, God Save the Queen was the Australian National Anthem for a long time, well before Advance Australia Fair.
But a far more enveloping fear is developing in me I fear, for I began to hear the voices of Triple J’s breakfast hosts this morning questioning the relevance of Anzac Day as a whole.
This is an interesting position that young people who do question it take. Most young Australian’s recognise Anzac day, and are among the best attending portion of the demographic at dawn services and Anzac Day marches.
But for people to question such an event is an act of what I find to be profound barbarism.
Generation Y, the generation of people between 1980-1993, has already been criticized numerous times for being selfish, unwilling to do hard work and such. Older generations frequently label Gen Y as the ‘MyGeneration’ (and that trend seems set to continue, with government support, if you read todays SMH).
It is a generation where personal needs are put forth before anything else. It is thus quite disturbing that the most extreme members of the generation feel that because Anzac day celebrates, first and foremost, the heroic contribution to Australia’s society and national identity, that young Australians, who are nearly all dead, made 95 years ago, and not the youth of today, that it is suddenly not relevant in modern life.
I don’t wish to suggest that this is every young Australian. I am a Gen Y Australian and I absolutely do not follow this idiom.
But to those of you who might, I think you need to look inwards and recognise, that, as the Anzacs proved, there are many great rewards for doing things not for oneself, but for the country and indeed the world.
It matters not that the Gallipoli operation ended in failure, because from the moment the first men fell, a legend, which should be indelible on any Australian’s psyche, was carved. That of mateship, courage, and a willingness to sacrifice oneself for something higher than yourself.
But while ever anybody questions the relevance of Anzac day, I weep for the future. I hope that the next generation are a little bit less conceited than us…
