We should reconsider the Anzac myth

Anzac rhetoric influenced by former Prime Minister John Howard, largely continued by present PM Kevin Rudd, has duped many Australians.

What exists makes me decidedly angry and, I’m sure, the Australia we have now is not what our country’s young men fought and died for on the Gallipoli Peninsula.
Nor, I’m equally sure, are the values of Australia today what was on the minds of the thousands of other soldiers who died, always in other countries.
The so-called Anzac legend is a myth – the values it promotes are misogynistic, encourage militarism, are misleading about what it is that creates a nation and subjugates those things that enhance our lives such as non-violence, empathy, care of others and the building of our communities.
Given huge Federal Government support, both through broader encouragement and more specifically funding of the Department of Veteran Affairs, the walls of Australian life, from primary schools to old age, have been papered with propaganda about the Anzac myth.
Generally, Australians now believe that our nationhood took its shape as our young men fought and died in what was a military disaster, organized by Great Britain, in another country, against a foe whom with we had no quarrel and, which history clearly illustrates, had no impact on world events.
It was a waste of lives, a waste of resources and seriously derailed the building of Australia, effectively ending its emergence as one of the most advanced nations in the world.
Whatever we may think, facts clearly show that we are enthusiasts of war and fight seemingly without any concern for values, morals and concepts held by many Australians.
Those who fought and died on our behalf deserve respect and should be remembered and honoured, but they do not warrant elevation to hero status and should not be examples to emulate, either individually or as a nation.
Writing in “What’s Wrong With Anzac?” Australian historians, Marilyn Lake and Henry Reynolds said: “We think it is time to reclaim our national values and commemorate the role of the Australians involved in campaigns for civil, social and political freedoms and who enshrined them in our national culture.”

What's Wrong With Anzac? - A surreal experience

A surreal connection, well, at least for me, seemed to pervade the room as I listened last night to Marilyn Lake (below) and Henry Reynolds (bottom)talk about their new book, What’s Wrong With Anzac?
Just a week or so earlier I had sat in the same room and listened as politics lecturer and social commentator, Waleed Aly, had discussed his latest work published in Quarterly Essay, What’s Right? The Future of Conservatism in Australia.
Both pieces seemed connected, although I feel sure that neither Lake, Reynolds nor Aly would not agree.

Aly’s views on conservatism reflected Australians enthusiasm to go to war in another country to fight for and defend a civilization they knew and loved.
Conservatism is not about an unwillingness to change, rather it sees change as organic and evolving and conservatives will welcome change when it is illustrated to be appropriate.
Lake and Reynolds would probably not disagree with Aly’s thesis, but it seems their concerns are more about the militarization of Australian history.
Some 200 people packed out the main auditorium at Melbourne’s Wheeler Centre (the Centre for Books, Writing and Ideas) to hear Lake and Reynolds discuss what it was the pushed them to assemble their ideas.
Both are noted historians and both argue that Australia’s Anzac obsession distorts our understanding of the past, replacing historical fact with myth.
Last night, Lake questioned the Federal Government’s official sponsorship, particularly when John Howard led the country, of Anzac through the funding of commemoration and education that has been mobilized as a conservative political force.

It is at this point that Aly may become a little restless as the Anzac juggernaut is not truly conservative; rather it is neo-conservative with political aims that pander to nationalism, racism and individualism, rather than the building of communities.
Lake made the point that the Department of Veteran Affairs appears to have a blank cheque in relation to funding when it comes to promoting and educating people about Anzac Day and she wondered what the public reaction would be like if other departments, such as the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs or the Department of Immigration and Citizenship had the same access to government cash and within that, influence.
The book, What’s Wrong With Anzac is published by the University of New South Wales Press and the ISBN is 978 1 74223 151 8.