Finlay MacDonald, atheist, lefty socialist muses on the whole concept of "lest we forget" in today's Sunday Star Times. He mentions historian Paul Moon has pointed out the inevitable toll time will take on commemoration of ANZAC day, and thinks it might not be here with us within the next 100 years.
Which just goes to show the inability of a secular, left leaning society has to transfer its cultural memory and cherished values. Today, we remember the sacrifice and the shops are shut until lunch time. 50 years from now, April 25th, falling on a Sunday might be nothing more than a rostered day off, with shops open from 8am just like any other day. Get up, put on your gray suit and go to work.
Christian values are no longer seen as such, but there is one enduring memory Christians have kept alive for 2000 years, in spite of every conceivable attack. 2000 years, Finlay. Makes you think, doesn't it?
Let's hope we can retain the values that help us maintain ANZAC day in our cultural memory. "Lest we forget" is certainly the key.
Rosemary McLeod, one column over, fights a little harder for ANZAC day than Finlay, and goes into attack - being the best form of defence - over the lefty organisation that was trying to invade ANZAC day with their white poppies. The whole article was a good read, and her conclusion eloquent beyond mere words:
Which just goes to show the inability of a secular, left leaning society has to transfer its cultural memory and cherished values. Today, we remember the sacrifice and the shops are shut until lunch time. 50 years from now, April 25th, falling on a Sunday might be nothing more than a rostered day off, with shops open from 8am just like any other day. Get up, put on your gray suit and go to work.
Christian values are no longer seen as such, but there is one enduring memory Christians have kept alive for 2000 years, in spite of every conceivable attack. 2000 years, Finlay. Makes you think, doesn't it?
Let's hope we can retain the values that help us maintain ANZAC day in our cultural memory. "Lest we forget" is certainly the key.
Rosemary McLeod, one column over, fights a little harder for ANZAC day than Finlay, and goes into attack - being the best form of defence - over the lefty organisation that was trying to invade ANZAC day with their white poppies. The whole article was a good read, and her conclusion eloquent beyond mere words:
..After that, if you want to buy a white poppy next year, fair enough. But give twice as much for a red one. Those have been earned.
Finlay has an indisputable point re the toll of time, though - we apparently don't give a toss these days about the lads who fell to keep Napoleon from owning Europe, though their loss was no doubt felt pretty keenly at the time and their cause was just in a far more clear-cut way than the invasion of Turkey. Still less do we remember the men of the Glorious Revolution of 1688, to whom we owe a great debt. Eventually it all does just become a history lesson.
ReplyDeleteGood post Zen. Rosemary's entire column can be read HERE.
ReplyDeletePM, you may be right, but as George Santayana once wrote, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
PM, Finlay may have an indisputable point re the toll of time, and so did I.
ReplyDeleteEventually it will be in the history books, but that day is not with us, not for a long while.
ReplyDelete