ANZAC Day, a source of fierce opposition to the idea of war - Letter to the Editor

Dear Editor,

Attending Fremantle’s ANZAC Day ceremony today raised so many questions of the interpretation that should be given to this day of remembering and honouring. Certainly, we should never forget to honour those who served, including our own family’s elder, Henry Lawrence Booth (Army -WW1) who falsified his age of 16 years and fought and survived some of France’s worst battles, including Ypres; my father, James Vincent McCarthy (Navy WW11) a young seaman who refused to speak of the war or battles he faced; and the untold grief of families, including my widowed grandmother, Ira McCarthy, whose two eldest sons Robert and Charles were killed in the second of those ‘wars to end all wars’. Most tragically, are the thousands more young Australians drawn into the multiple wars since! We are right to pause this Day to remember those who gave their all, and to act – with urgency – to address the toll of the ‘continuing war within’ still being experienced by so many returnees.

But alongside this, critical thought is needed to not allow this Day to glorify war itself; to not allow our threshold of tolerance for such involvements to be lowered. ANZAC Day needs to be a source of fierce opposition to the idea of war and the possibility of future wars; a moment to reflect on the underbelly of power and political purposes war so commonly involves. This Day should serve to build our determination to fastidiously avoid our country and its young people ever being taken back to such tumult. To that end, our political leaders need to know the strength of our conviction that they pursue international relations with resolute care, independence and negotiation finesse. Expressing our support for this role is a meaningful ANZAC Day action open to us all.

Sue Booth (address supplied)