OPINION
Tani Newton
Lest we forget. Every year, in April and again in November, and in the public places of every city and almost every town and locality, we are reminded to “remember them”.
War is a terrible thing. To be attacked by a foreign aggressor is notoriously one of the worst things a nation can experience, and the hardship and danger faced by those who go to its defence indeed makes them worthy of honour.
But why is it that these two world wars have become the focus of unending commemoration? Why is Anzac Day becoming more popular every year, when the last veterans of the First World War have died, and fewer and fewer are left from the Second? Why is it that everyday pacifists can be made to feel, even if only for one morning a year, that it would be inexcusable not to glorify war?
Meanwhile, let’s give some honour to the everyday heroes and heroines who also sacrifice much or all. Let me suggest a few:
Members of the emergency services, who face danger and hardship, sometimes for their whole working lives.
People, often not young themselves, who care for aged parents. Friends of mine looked after a parent for twenty years who needed as much care as a child.
Those who give up hopes and plans for the sake of their children. It’s not just women who may forego a career to raise a family; men also make choices to put their families first, sometimes at the expense of following their dreams.
Young women who find themselves pregnant and are advised to have an abortion, and who take their lives in their hands and save their babies.
Friends who selflessly help friends in need, expecting nothing in return, and those who do good to strangers who can never repay them.
But what about all the other sacrifices that people make every day?
We live and walk among heroes and heroines every day. Few of us receive a medal or stand on a pedestal but without the quiet bravery and self-sacrifice of us all, the world would be a dark and dismal place.