I was traveling yesterday, so did not attend any ANZAC commemorations. However it meant that I heard quite a bit on the radio and also read some interesting articles in the paper. The most interesting analysis I heard was the suggestion that up until the 1980's ANZAC Day was a glorification of war, specially when the ex-servicemen who did not see much action got together with their mates. The argument was that since then the day has involved the wider community far more and has become a day of reflection on war rather than a celebration. I can remember as a teenager in the 1980's being critical of what ANZAC Day stood for, and playing Midnight Oil "US Forces" in protest. I have moved on from then, and I think much of the rest of Australia has as well. One of the interesting interviews I heard last night was with Karen Throssell the granddaughter of Hugo Throssell , the Gallipoli veteran with a VC who returned home a pacifist. His antiwar views had been carried on by his family and they refused to be part of ANZAC Day. However Karen now sees the Day as "a day to remember what happened not just to our own loved ones and to remind us of what should never happen again."
Christians have a mixed response to ANZAC Day. There can be some sentimental religiosity which has nothing to do with the gospel and war can be accepted too readily (even if not glorified). On the other hand ANZAC Day remembers something important and in a properly sombre way. Those who fought did so with a sense that they were serving their nation, and most of the wars in which Australia has fought have had some justification. Australia is a better country for remembering than if we didn't. I think Ian has a different view, and he may want to put that.
There was an interesting article on the church contribution to the ANZAC ceremonies in Pacifica last year. John Moses argues that the Brisbane clergyman who most contributed to the form of the ceremony was aiming "to commemorate the fallen, console the bereaved and call the nation to penitence for the sin of war." You can see the abstract online.
