New Zealand Conservative

It is or was Anzac day today, being as it is a half holiday I'm not sure whether it still is. When I was little Anzac days were subject to disruptors. On the TV news, Anzac Day ceremonies would lead and the noisemakers would get a lot of focus. They didn't honor the dead and it disturbed me then, and it still does now. Ironically some of these loud people later became establishment figures, Members of Parliament and even cabinet minsters. By then of course they wouldn't be disrupting Anzac Day services anymore but attend with serious faces wearing the obligatory poppy. Luckily for these characters the internet wayback machine doesn't go that far back so they are safe from embarrassing exposure, unlike the upcoming facebook generation who will never escape the sins of their mis-spent youth. In any case Homepaddock has a post. " They also served " about ten nurses who died in 1915 when their ship was torpedoed. A post that remembers some of the dead. ...

Here we go again. A week ago I defended the Warrior class from those who venerate the Trader. That discussion was esoteric and abstract. Today, we see the practical application. When the three NZDF airmen tragically died on ANZAC day, John Key cancelled his plans to attend a trade delegation and headed back for the funeral. He has received unjustified criticism from a few people who broadly argue that the trade was more important than showing respect for some fallen warriors. They are wrong.

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 ...

Selling white poppies a week after ANZAC day? - An Act of Piggyback Marketing Selling white poppies on ANZAC day? - An Act of War Selling white poppies before ANZAC day - An Act of Terrorism For supposedly peaceful people, the mob that want to invade ANZAC day seem to have a distinct lack of empathy and respect for the feelings of others. They are also potentially taking away from fund raising efforts for the vets. An aggressor will tell you that "wars are never necessary", but that's only because, after attacking, they want you to roll over and die. If they want war, I suspect they will get war.