A war memorial sponsored by weapons dealers is no place for quiet reflection on Anzac Day | Paul Daley

With boastful displays and arms maker sponsors, the memorial falls ever shorter of duty to commemorate the toll of war

Checking in on Anzac Day commemorations at the Australian War Memorial today? If so, besides paying appropriate respect to our service personnel, perhaps consider just how contorted the official memorialisation of war has become in this country.

This should be a day of quiet reflection. It should be one to reflect not only on the experiences of the Australians and New Zealanders who, disastrously, helped invade Gallipoli 107 years ago (to retreat before Christmas), but more broadly on war’s impact on humankind – which is what Anzac Day has evolved into.

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