As we uphold the Anzac Day tradition, we are reminded of the high price the young men and women of our grandparents’ generations paid (“their tomorrow for our todays”) to purchase the freedoms we, the grandchildren, take today for granted.
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There is one main reason why so many Australian and Allied young men, women and civilians died in World Wars I and II.
There was an influential pacifist minority in Allied nations supportive of Germany/Japan.
They talked our leaders out of having a strong defensive readiness to respond to the well-publicised military build-up and territorial expansion of Imperial Germany and Hitler’s Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan.
Failing to act on the many signs of pending military aggression, our leaders had to sacrifice the lives of far too many untrained young men, opposing well-trained German and Japanese soldiers, to give the Allies a slim chance to defend our nations and families against enemy invasion, capture and conquest.
Before they could be stopped (with eternal thanks to the USA), many freedom-loving countries fell to those two ruthless aggressors, with millions of men, women and children brutally abused and murdered (countries this generation visits as tourists).
Today, we know China and Russia are excessively well-armed, far beyond any need for national defence, and aggressively expanding their territory.
The next “unexpected” war will be beyond our worst fears.
Like France's President Emmanuel Macron, let us also reintroduce serious military training for all young people.
This would show our determination to defend our homes, families, freedoms and our nation.
Let us expose and hold accountable those who oppose national military service, who want to repeat those avoidable great losses of young lives.
The next great conflict will be swift and destructive for underprepared nations like Australia, which dwell quietly without strong walls or defence.
Mike Johns (10 years Army Reserve), Riverwood
Exposing the ABC’s bias
I totally support Paul Bosman’s letter (“ABC failing its obligations”, The Daily Advertiser, June 1).
But if you wish to see a much stronger and broader castigation of the current ABC news/current affairs left bias, see former ABC chairman Maurice Newman’s letter of May 31 in The Australian.
A litany of lefty disregard for reality and perception, errors and omissions in recent ABC shows are cited and condemned.
Who better to pass judgement.
John Flynn, Kooringal
Babies have a right to life from conception
Wagga - “No” to the slaughter of the innocent unborn. The baby has the right to life.
Always we, as a caring community, have a big responsibility to protect new life as it begins the moment of conception.
To show support to mothers/parents considering sad termination of an innocent new human life.
As a city and community we give thanks each day for God’s creation of the new babe!
To show ongoing love, compassion and care and support, our job as a city and a nation.