Is The ANZAC Spirit Relevant To Life In Australia Today?

To what extent is the ANZAC spirit relevant to life in Australia today? What can it teach us about the Australia we want for the future?

To the perception of many Australians, the ANZAC spirit is a fundamental component to Australian identity but what is more it has been a moral example in which many Australians still commend on. The ANZAC spirit has presented itself in modern day Australia through its respected qualities such as pride and persistence and should manifest these values in the future to come, not necessarily through war but through the intentions of building a better nation.
The ANZAC spirit is relevant to life in Australia today as it has embedded pride in the values of Australians. Since the beginning of the
If it had not been for the great persistence in the ANZAC spirit, the death toll of Australians soldiers might have been higher especially with the lives of P.O.W’s, also known as Prisoners of War. Over 22,000 Australians were captured by the Japanese and made into prisoners of war in South East Asia. The numbers have been the highest in Singapore as 14,972 Australians were held in captive there. Sgt Jack O’Donnell was an Australian soldier held as a prisoner of war in Singapore in 1942. In his diary he described the lack of food issued such as when he said “Most of the lads are now suffering in some form or other from malnutrition and lack of vitamins. Personally speaking I find it extremely hard to move one leg after the other these days,” and the diseases that spread when he claimed that, “Dysentery became a real plague. At one stage we had over four hundred alone with it,” Fortunately due to his strong persistence as an Australian soldier, he survived and on 18 September 1944 he was on his way back home. Persistence also acted as motivation for ANZACs during World War One and World War Two. In World War One, Gallipoli ended badly for the ANZACs. Even though the ANZACs held very little advantage in Gallipoli due to their enemy’s geographical position, their endeavours to overtake the Turkish army and
The ANZAC spirit still exists on the fact that it is a useful resource for the future to come. It carries values such as pride and persistence that can be employed for building a better community within the nation and for benefiting Australia as a whole. Pride is important as it is fundamental basis for building up a nation just like how pride in the ANZAC spirit has built up Australia as an independent nation. In the future, pride in the ANZAC spirit can be passed on through aspects such as sports, when sportsmen and sportswomen dedicate their life to represent their country. It is similar as to when Australian soldiers dedicate their lives to protect their country. They hold the same concept because they both benefit Australia as a nation. Persistence comes as an important value in these aspects too as it acts as a sense of motivation, sportsmen and sportswomen would not have the strength to represent their country without persistence and perseverance. In the future, Australians should embed the values pride and persistence in them just like how the ANZACs have in order to develop Australia into a better nation.

Through many battles such as Gallipoli and the Kokoda Track and also the home front, the ANZAC spirit has shown persistence and pride. Pride in the ANZAC spirit has become one of Australia’s building blocks to developing a nation of independence and strength. Persistence has given ANZACs motivation