Lest We Forget the Innocent Victims of War!

ANZAC Day is arguably the most significant public holiday on the Australian calendar, evoking a deep sense of national pride and gratitude for the generations of soldiers who have gone before us to defend our freedoms. Today, ANZAC Day also includes appropriate acknowledgement of a new generation of soldiers who are still actively defending our freedoms in recent and current military conflicts.

ANZAC Day is a day to commemorate the sacrifice of the fallen and to remember the high price tag associated with war.  Irrespective of the motives or causes, every war that has ever been fought leaves a trail of physical and psychological damage that inflicts permanent scars upon the soul of every nation engaged in the conflict.

Therefore, when we say "Lest We Forget" it is both a statement of RESPECT and LAMENT...

We respect the fallen and injured soldiers when we say "Lest We Forget"

We also lament the innocent victims of war when we say "Lest We Forget"
 

The hallowed phrase "Lest We Forget" should not only be a commemorative statement but a confrontational statement that reminds us of the consequences of war to strengthen our resolve to never again resort to armed conflict.  This means if we try to sanitise "Lest We Forget" by censoring the inconvenient and uncomfortable truths associated with war then we've already 'forgotten'.

So, when a media personality posted on social media the comment "Lest. We. Forget. (Manus, Nauru, Syria, Palestine)", drawing attention to displaced people as a direct result of fleeing from war zones, I'm a little puzzled at the level of offence this comment has provoked among so many Australians!?  Is it a misplaced nationalism?  Is it a denial of reality? Is it a prejudice against the nationality and religion of the person behind the statement? Whatever it is, I feel the offence felt by the alleged offensive comment is actually more offensive than the comment itself.  To be offended by a reminder of a reality of war when we stand together and say "Lest We Forget" is an unconscionable contradiction that reveals some deep prejudices that dishonour the ANZAC spirit way more than what was said!  

I'm intentionally refraining from naming the person behind the controversy because this raises some ugly issues in our nation that are much bigger than any one person.  We seriously need to take a good hard look at ourselves when we get so easily offended by anybody who dares to challenge our national conscience.  And we need to stop demonising people who do so and with whom we may disagree.

          Lest we forget the innocent victims of war!!

I'm Offended!!

I'm offended that as a new father I was unable to use a public 'parents room' to change my babies nappies without feeling I was intruding on a mother's only space.

I'm offended that when I was a father of five year old twins I couldn't take either of them into a change room at Kmart without being looked upon as a deviate.

I'm offended that today as a father of a sixteen year old daughter I am subjected to suspicious glances when I take her out to a cafe on a daddy/daughter date.

I'm offended that the designation of leadership roles in our home and ministry between my wife and I, based on our shared values and individual gifts and abilities, are judged by some as chauvinistic.

I'm also offended that men in general are singled out in social and political commentary as child abusers, perpetrators of domestic violence and instigators of sexist behaviour.

BUT...

I am more OFFENDED by the men in our society who do abuse their position of trust and violate the innocence of children.

I am more OFFENDED by the men in our society who do use their physical strength to inflict unthinkable violence against women as a means of exerting control.

I am more OFFENDED by the men in our society who still think that unwanted sexual advances, sexist jokes and sexualisation of women is just 'boys being boys'.

I am more OFFENDED that the inappropriate behaviour of a few men in our society can leave lasting physical, emotional and mental scars for a disproportionate number of women and children whose only vulnerability is that which is imposed upon them by the distorted use of power.

If singling out the role of men in the abuse of power is what it takes to restore a right image of self in the lives of women and children, then I can live with being offended.  My offence pales into insignificance compared to the greater OFFENCES being perpetrated by men who need real manhood role modelled to them by the men in our society who treat their mothers, sisters, wives, daughters and female friends with dignity and respect.

History has proven that the pendulum needs to swing in the opposite direction for a season to correct the imbalance of power in society.  So guys, if you feel offended like I do, don't allow your offence to become self pity but turn your offence into influence so that we can change the attitudes and behaviours of those men who cause the real OFFENCE, which is what really makes us feel OFFENDED in the first place!