Monday, Monday
- Read Girl with a Dragon Tattoo. Found it immensely disturbing, and critically compelling. K and I were putting up a bookshelf, and I was holding the shelf with one hand and the book with the other. Incidentally, this annoyed K to a certain degree.
Like I said, horribly, almost vindictively compelling, but it sort of reminded me why I shy away from ( Read more... )
In recent years (my other half says he thinks it began with the Howard years) it's become a more jingoistic affair, with reference to soldiers 'fighting for our freedom'. You might argue that point to a degree with WWII because of Japanese incursions in the Pacific, but you'd be hard pressed to identify any bit of the Great War which was fighting for anyone's freedom.
Ahem. So I have many opinions on this subject. I am very uncomfortable with the way that ANZAC Day seems to be marked these days. For me, it's a day to reflect and be grateful that - after my great grandfather was gassed in the fields of France in the Great War, my grandfather fought in New Guinea in WWII and my father, who was in the air force at the time, was sent to Vietnem - my brothers are the first in Harrises in four generations who were not *required* to go away to fight a war.
Re Gallipoli, the Great War is interesting in its social significance for this country. Although we had Federated by then, there was still a strong sense of being connected to Britain (which is why there were so many volunteers in the first place) but there was this great cultural cringe and concern about the 'convict stain' upon our national character. This was the war where it was seen that those plucky, earthy, working class Australians had other qualities, and we began to value them above valuing being posh and British.
This is of course a very potted and truncated history, and just one take on it, but it's fascinating.
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