Self-Portrait...

I was going through some old photos as I was looking for a photo of George Mason and the quote of the previous post, and I came across this one.

I am an amateur photographer, and I use the term amateur loosely, and I have a little point and shoot Casio Ex-P700 camera.

I have always found the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington DC to be one of the most powerful, thought-provoking, and inspiring memorials I have visited, even as an Australian. I know that others have widely divergent opinions of the memorial to mine. I think that the power comes from the ability to see ourselves reflected back at us, and for me this gives me pause for a little introspection on a great many things. This happens for me at a great many war memorials, including Australian, wondering what drove these brave young men and women to sacrifice so much.

I am forever grateful for the freedoms that they secured for me so many years ago, and also to the young men and women of today who continue to sacrifice so much in the defense and maintenance of those things that I, we, hold dear.

With a bit of luck, the family and I will be heading to Gallipoli in 2015 for the 100th anniversary of the ANZAC landing.

Anzac Day

Many argue that the Gallipoli campaign was where Australia forged it's identity as a nation, and I would tend to agree. However, this leads to the quintessential question for most Australians; What makes us Australian and how do we become Australian?

Anzac Day has always had a special place for me since I was a youngster. Yet, it has taken on more significance I think since my younger brother, Brad, joined the Australian Navy. We owe a great debt of gratitude to those who dedicate themselves to the service and protection of others.

I am as anti-war as can be. I do not believe in war, I do not see it as a means to resolving conflicts, and I specially do not see it as a means of achieving lasting peace. Nevertheless, there are those who dedicate themselves to ensuring that conflict and war is a part of our existence and until the forces of good overcome those dedicated to the perpetuation of evil then this will surely be our lot. Yet, I digress from the point.

Anzac Day has taken on much greater significance for many Australians and the fact that we trek across many continents in our thousands to get to Gallipoli and places on the Western Front such as Fromelles, Pozieres, Bullecourt, Dernancourt, and Villers-Bretonneux to name but a few is testament to the increased awareness that we have as a nation of the sacrifices of our fathers, grandfathers, and great grandfathers, and our mothers, grandmothers, and great grandmothers too.

This post is not intended to be a history lesson. If you want that there are plenty of good sites you can check out for yourselves. I found one here, but a simple Google search with the terms Anzac Day history will get you about 1.4 million hits.

The Ode of Remembrance from the poem "For the Fallen by English Poet Laurence Binyon best says what must be remembered:

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old; Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them.

It is the young men and women who sacrificed so much, including their lives, so that the rest of us could live in relative peace.

The photo of Anzac Cove is courtesy of this site and can be found there.

History's Worst Decisions

I have just finished reading a book titled, History's Worst Decisions and the People Who Made Them by Stephen Weir. I guess if you do not want to repeat history you need to know what history has been before you. However, no two circumstances are every exactly the same so perhaps we are doomed to repeat similar history!

The book is one of those that has an almost vice like grip on your brain as you start reading about the stupidity that has invaded the minds of some of history's biggest stars. It is almost voyeuristic in that you are taking a fleeting glimpse at history through the key hole.

The book starts out with Adam and Eve, the Original Idiots, and sets the rest of the stupidity that follows on the original sin.

The entries include classics such as the trade of Manhattan Island for Run Island by the Dutch by Johan de Witt. The Dutch seem to have erred in making that deal, don't you think?

Other entries include Custer and his last stand at the Little Big Horn, Winston Churchill's folly at Gallipoli, Maralinga and the British Nuclear Testing in Australia's outback, Union Carbide and Bhopal, Chernobyl, and Mugabe, among a total of 50 entries.

It is a great little read and does not take that long to plough through. I actually did it in one sitting over a great many hours! However, it was one of those books that has that perverse kind of attraction in that each time you go to put the book down you think, I will just read one more stupid decision and then go to bed, and then you end up reading it to the end.

Highly recommended.