---- Anzac Day Australia - My Cognitive Dissonance ----

Anzac Day

In Australia the 25th of April each year is a national day of remembrance, this day is also recognized in New Zealand, Cook Islands, Niue, Pitcairn Islands, and Tonga, Papua New Guinea, Samoa and many other countries. Anzac Day was created to honor members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who fought against the Ottoman Empire during World War I (WWI ) at Gallipoli. Later Anzac Day evolved to broadly commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders "who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations" and "the contribution and suffering of all those who have served".

Wiki Source

I have always been incredibly conflicted when it comes to Anzac day in Australia, to say that there is some cognitive dissonance would be an understatement. The reasons for this are varied, some of it can be seen as stemming from the inconsistent attitudes of the many people on the day. There are those that see Anzac Day as just another day off work, a reason to get drunk, to glorify war and its outcomes, and generally have zero acknowledgment of what Anzac day is supposed to signify, but this is merely the tip of the iceberg.

Anzac day brings a heavily patriotic notion to the table, fighting for "freedom", the bravery and honor of those that served their country and died for it. Coupled with feelings of loss, pain and anguish it is very easy to have an extreme perspective on the events which surround Anzac day. This can lead to a dogmatic perspective, this inflexibility in viewpoint plus the emotional content means that there can often be conflict when addressing issues of Anzac day.

War is horrendous, there is no way around it, its people killing people in terrible ways . Make no mistake innocent people die... women, children, men, the casualties of war are many. What happens during war is appalling. The human psyche deteriorates, war crimes, inhumane acts, rape, torture, chemical warfare, and more. Further, this is not even delving into the outcomes of war for survivors such as PTSD, depression, anxiety, suicide, etc.

There is no honor in war, governments send their people into battle like lambs to the slaughter with very little regard for those lives before, during or after their service. Decisions made by those that never set foot on a battle field dictate the shape the war will take, many of these decisions leading to massive loss of life. This deplorable conduct is often hidden and shielded at that time as classified information, when this information is declassified decades later is is merely viewed as "historical fun facts" to be discussed as points of trivia.

And here lies the problem which causes the cognitive dissonance when i look at Anzac Day. The loss of life is terrible, people should be honored for who they are and what they have done in their lives. However, attaching the emotional content of the loss of life and that want for honoring their memory has been intertwined with military service and war. This seems to be by design, forcing a mental connection between honor and war. It also creates the concept of all or nothing, do not question, one can not be supported without the other.... a dogma. Paired with a decent dose of patriotism, It seems the social stigma has been designed perfectly as a self correcting system. To question is to disagree, to disagree is to insult, to insult is to be ostracized.... so, do not question.

Im not sure if there will ever be a resolution to my cognitive dissonance and the conflict i feel for Anzac day and what it does or does not stand for, thinking about it just causes anxiety and turmoil. What i know for sure is that there is no glory or honor in war , there are no winners or losers, there are just those that survive it.... and those that don't.