It would be really worthy and wonderful to see the empathetic spirit of Australia broadened from all the thoughts and commemoration of a long past war and those who died, to stopping the present futile, unjust wars, opposing evil regimes and helping suffering people that are alive today.
We should be showing
much more concern, compassion and exerting more effort, publicity, money and
time into issues like those imprisoned on remote island detention camps, those
living in poverty and homeless in Australia and all those who are being
dispossessed, occupied and oppressed in other lands.
It would be something to
see our sympathy extended more widely and to truly remember and learn the
lessons of the past, about the waste and senselessness of previous unjust wars
by not participating in more such wars and offering real material help to those
who are victims of current wars and gross injustice.
That’s what I'd really
like to see. So let’s get involved and show up on mass and march and rally and
spend time and money on that. Not only show up in big numbers for marches and
rallies for things that happened 100 years ago. And protest when our government
slashes the aid and welfare budget and mistreats the vulnerable and
disadvantaged.
Our efforts can make a difference and have an effect on actual
events today, if we express our indignation against morally wrong policies and
human rights abuses that are happening now. We need to enlarge our humanity to
include becoming more conscious of and caring when some blatant atrocity or war
crime happens somewhere and speak out and act.
We cannot remain indifferent
towards the rest of the world and its problems, with which we share the same
common bonds, hopes and destiny on this little planet we all inhabit together.
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