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Originally posted by cchris
It is indeed a special place that can accomodate people that want the benefits but can't accept the wish of the people.
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I'm not sure I understand this comment, other than it may be sarcasm?
I choose not to become a citizen of a country with Queen Elizabeth as the Head of State. What's your point?
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I take it that you have a dislike to the concept of a constitutional monarchy?
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I most certainly do. If you feel that, in the modern world, there's a place for Kings and Queens, Governor's General and unelected Heads of State, then that's your perogative. I believe that day is gone and I believe in a full and true democratic nation.
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I'm not that fussed with it either,but the "Republican" movement can gloat all they like at their efforts to wear down our aging and indeed very proud population.
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I'm unaware of any "gloating" on the part of the so-called Republican movement. I certainly believe that if the Howard Government had chosen a republican model based upon a President
elected by the people, rather than appointed by the House of Parliament (with all the associated accusations of cronyism), then the recent referendum would have passed. You must remember that a lot of people voted against the proposal, simply because they were disgusted by the cynical attempt of the Howard Government to retain the ability, vested in the few members of Parliament, to appoint the Head of State.
That kinda misses the wholepoint, don't you think?
I have no idea what this means.
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We will become a republic one day,but the timeline is for the people to decide at their own pace and not by way of the constant hammering of the republican movement.
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Constant hammering? It's a bit of a dead debate in Australia these days. I'm sure once Labour gets into power they will quietly table it for later consideration. But it will happen some day.
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With regards to your third point it is a very proud history for you and something to cherish.
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I'm not sure if cherish is the right word, but thank you for the sentiment.
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Alec Campbell was only 16 when he argued with his parents to allow him to enrol with the Anzacs.
The youngest (Australian) soldier to die at Gallipoli however was James Martin. He was 14.
Like our soldiers,our Country was very young too.
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This is all very poignant, but it still doesn't alter the fact that the Gallipoli campaign has attained mythic proportions in the Australian pysche. As I said in an earlier post, perhaps this is because the casualties were so unexpected, and that it was the first real war where Australia was involved (the 1905 Boer War notwithstanding). But as the Sydney Morning Herald article points out, there are quite a few myths involved.
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At the time,by proportion,casualties were 65% of those who enlisted.
Now even if this is because they just didn't know any better or they were just (dare I say it) fodder,it says plenty about the courage shown by those that must have known that survival here was going to be very limited.
In other words,they just kept "doing the doing".
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As did countless British, German, Turkish and French soldiers. It truly was a terrible war.
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And Mr Mephisto,I am not going to get into a slanging match with you on this subject and by no means is this a personal attack because I respect your opinion,but to truly understand about who we are as a nation and why we hold the ANZAC tradition to such lofty heights we must understand that a good number of those that served there were just children.
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Slanging match? Where on Earth did you get that idea?
A good number of those that served on
every side were children. France effectively lost an
ENTIRE generation of men. The proportion of Australian casualties was high, but by no means did Australia suffer the worst in World War One. As I said above, it was (and is) important to Australia because it can be considered a "defining" moment in your history. But Gallipoli was not a wholly Australian affair, nor did Australia lose the most men.
There are 8709 Australians buried on the Gallipoli Peninsula, 46,000 British soldiers and 250,000 Turks. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, a colonel in the battle and later the Turkish President, famously recited the following words in 1934 (now part of the Ari Burnu memorial)
"Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives.... are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehemets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours ... having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well."
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Other Countries involved have similar tales but the issue at hand is important to me.
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All life is sacred and no one is of greater import than any other. I guess that's the basis of my whole point.
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May I suggest that you get your citizenship and vote for change.
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You certainly may. But I choose not to become a subject of the British crown. Call me old fashioned, but my grand-father and great uncle fought for Irish freedom, just so I could call myself a
citizen and not the subject of a foreign King or Queen; and that still means something to me.
:-)
Mr Mephisto