Don't Forget! Don't Forget!

By Rev. Geoff Leslie, Barham Baptist

Truth is often war's first casualty, from its first to its final shots. Like the bad guys of movies and fiction, the enemy has to be painted in the worst possible terms so that killing them seems necessary. It's an awful, sick human game. And yet, throughout human history, war has brought out some of the most profound, rich, deep human experiences - triumph and grief, courage and cowardice, brilliance and stupidity, miracles and disasters.

Brothers in arms forge the strongest of bonds, yet the most heartless cruelty may be unleashed at the same time towards the enemy. If the soldiers' eyes were not bleared with the cataracts of propaganda and desperation they would see that those enemies share the same DNA, the same humanity, they are also experiencing teamwork, bonding, heroic self-sacrifice. In war, it doesn't pay to think about that.

On Anzac Day we need to acknowledge that fighting in wars helped many Australians to discover some admirable qualities which have come to characterise our national spirit. We also acknowledge that entering the war was something many people did with the greatest reluctance, feeling there was no other way to save humanity from a tragic regression, no other way to save defenceless civilian populations.

There is no denying the scars carried by those with memories of active service: sights, sounds, smells and stress no-one should ever experience. Movies, books, museums or conversations with war veterans may open some insights, but few of us can ever fully appreciate what it's like to constantly wonder if our next breath could be decided by some unknown or unseen foe.

Not all wars are equal in honour; some are futile from the outset. When will we ever learn to transcend the stupidity of tit-for-tat revenge, of shoring up some Empire's or Emperor's addiction to power, of allowing another race's differentness to become the basis for hatred?

The most powerful advocate of non-violence in history was Jesus Christ. How ironic that some claim to fight wars on his behalf! Jesus advocated non-reaction to enemies, passive resistance, heroic refusal to fight, and when his own torment came, he practised what he'd preached. The upshot was to expose the madness and evil of the other side, and to win divine vindication when God raised him from death.

Some of the greatest victories of the last century were similarly gained by non-violence - the independence of India, the removal of US discrimination laws, the overthrow of Marcos in the Philippines, the bringing down of the Berlin wall. By contrast many victories won by military violence leave such scars and such destruction that populations are traumatised for generations.

This year as well as the pointless battle of Gallipoli, we also observe the 90th year anniversary of the somewhat more useful liberation by Australians of the French town of Villers-Bretonneux. The awful cost and lasting sorrow of war should drive us to seek better ways at all times. That's why we need to keep saying,

'Lest We Forget, Lest We Forget!'

Articles by Geoff Leslie are found on the 'net at http://www.ruralministry.org