22nd Man said:
When "the Fanatics" are in the business of organising trips there makes you think twice. 1300 was the quoted attendance yesterday... Is that about 10% of The 90s and 00s?
I just cringe with a lot of the *smile* that we see in the coverage of ANZAC Day at Gallipoli each year. Some random “ANZAC descendant” (what a *smile*ing ridiculous term), attention seeking on the news. Wearing his “ANZAC Gallipoli Tour 2019” T-Shirt, convincing himself of feeling a spiritual link to a random place his great grandfather’s, cousin’s, wife’s, brother’s nephew spent a few months at. Down on the beach feeling the water and turning to the camera to say how he can feel where they came ashore. Then coverage of him rubbing a grave and sobbing. Sorry......absolute crap! I liken it to religious lunatics who have convinced themselves they see Virgin Mary in a random piece of toast.
By the way i’m Ex-service, as was my grandfather and his brothers on my maternal side (Pacific theatre in WWII) and my great grandfather on my paternal side (Western Front WWI). But what ANZAC Day has become and morphed into makes me cringe (before he died 5 yrs ago my maternal grandfather was starting to feel the same way about it). We felt that Remembrance Day is marked far more appropriately as a solemn day of observance and reflection without all the quasi-religious, nationalistic mythology and crap that seems to come with ANZAC Day.
And to play devils advocate. When we already had Remembrance Day. Apart from an opportunity for some jingoistic flag waving, chest beating and the opportunity to invent some apparently unquestionable cliches and myths, what purpose does ANZAC Day really serve? Like I say, the remembrance and reflection elements that we try and convince ourselves that ANZAC Day is about, well they’re already covered on Remembrance Day. Marking that point in time when the guns fell silent - being thankful that it is all over and for those that returned, while thinking of those that didn't, with a moment's silence at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. Contrast that with what point in time ANZAC Day signifies - the start of a failed invasion attempt.
I wouldn't go as far as the deliberately hateful and provocative lefty critics go and refer to it in catchphrases as a festival celebrating murderers & rapists, or whatever nonsense they sprout. I find their views very unfair. But i do find the mindless psuedo-religious reverence totally lacking in any critical thought.