Nation pays tribute to Anzacs

Nation pays tribute to Anzacs : "Shortly after receiving many calls about the graffiti, police arrested five teenage girls nearby, allegedly still covered in paint."

I have always thought Anzac Day should be our national day. It does unite us as a nation no matter what we think of Anzac Day. It is fundamental to the lifeblood of this country. The fact that so many people notified about the girls is testament to the fact that Australians respect the day. The fact the the girls went out and allowed their emotions to run riot in graffiti all over the war memorial without a thought of what that would mean, tells me we are still in the business of teaching the young what this day means. It's not about glorifying war and military things. It's about people joining together to respect the fact that people went and died for us. That some people were involved in military actions and were trying to fight for our country. The feeling you get is not one of trying to keep it all going, but spending some quiet, meaningful time thinking of those who did fight for us because they either had to or were expected to.They put themselves at risk so the girls had a right to protest their feelings of anti war. Some quiet time to respect the fact we don't want it, but we are not going to forget those who gave their lives in battle. The young girls haven't yet got that perspective. If they just think in terms of war is murder, then true, they are right, but it is not quite as easy as that. It never is. They could have expressed their dismay with the day in another way. They could have but they chose not to and so they have a lot of learning to do. No one in Australia has been censored for being anti Anzac Day. In fact we have frequently had some very hot debates on the issues relevant to the day and its significance. This is why it's the lifeblood of our nation. In reaches into us and makes us know what we are about. That people stayed up all night cleaning it all tells us how much this means to us. The girls should have been there cleaning it too. Hopefully they will be used for a good deal of community service as well as being expected to recompense the money spent on the clean up and the people hours spent doing their clean up job.