In his book The Life of Reason Volume One in 1905 philosopher and writer George Santayana said 'Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it'. It's often repeated and frequently misquoted but the gist is remains the same - unless we look back at what has happened before and learn from it we will continue to make the same mistakes. It's very true. Look back into history and you see humanity over and over again doing the same things for the same reasons. That's why celebrating days like Anzac Day is so important not because as I thought when I was younger that they glorify war but because they force us to face the horrific reality of war. The lists of casualties and the lives ruined when those returning could not escape the demons of their experiences should make us stop and think and maybe, just maybe, we won't be so willing to go to war thinking of it as some glorious and heroic adventure. It's not and it never was.
So this Anzac Day - which in this time of lockdowns, illness and death is going to be very different from the usual where folk gather in remembrance at war memorials - I hope we all can still spare a few moments to remember and reflect. Whether you go out with a torch or lantern at dawn and stand in silent vigil at the end of your driveway, you listen to the Dawn Service on the radio or watch it on television or listen to the buglers who intend to play the traditional bugle calls in parks or from their homes we must remember the horrors of the past and those who died to keep their homelands safe.
Lest we forget.
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