HEROISM1

HEROISM and PATRIOTISM

By

JOHN ROBERTS(2003)

I thought I would write a few words on the subject of “Heroism”: a much-applauded attribute of the male and, under stressful conditions, quite often the female of the species.

We like to think that our soldiers, in times of War, are capable of feats of bravery, when under fire and in immediate danger of being killed or injured. Then, may they perform acts of selfless devotion and, as a result, save the lives of their colleagues.

During the last two World Wars, one often heard reports of single-handed assaults upon machine-gun positions, by heroic warriors, resulting in the destruction of the post and the death of several enemy soldiers. Heroic acts of this nature were recognized as worthy of the highest commendation. As a result, numerous “Victoria Crosses” were awarded to British and Commonwealth soldiers. Lesser acts of heroism were rewarded by the grant of minor medals or “Mentions in Despatches”. It was a very satisfying system and, as a result, those heroes who happened to survive their experiences were decorated at ceremonies, especially held to commemorate their bravery. In many instances, the hero had given his life in the battle and the award was made, posthumously, to his “Nearest and Dearest”.

Such a system of public recognition of heroism has a long history and one recalls that, in the days of the Ancient Greeks, soldiers who defended the State against invading armies were much applauded. In Roman times, brave soldiers were promoted within the Army and given grants of land, as new territories were opened up by conquest. Such brave warriors made a contribution towards “National Pride”, an important element in the development of a strong national identity.

Nowadays, the bestowing of medals upon soldiers has become farcical. Every opportunity to cast a medal is taken by Governments, intent on exploiting the bravery of their soldiers. The courage of senior officers, in many Corps, from all parts of the world, is astonishing: judging from the number and weight of gold, silver or bronze medallions, together with colourful ribbons, which adorn the breasts of these proud individuals. One recalls seeing newsreel footage of many warlike individuals, whose array of hardware would suggest a long and glorious history of personal heroic achievement. The late Benito Mussolini was just such a person, renowned for the splendour of his uniforms and attendant display of awards for heroism. The writer, unfortunately, has no knowledge of the circumstances of his exploits. Latin-American generals are also said to favour an impressive display of chest regalia. Adolf Hitler, on the other hand and Josef Stalin of the Soviet Union, were more modest in their claims and it is not felt that too great a demonstration of personal bravery was made by either of these two leaders, although both were much feared.

The British were reasonably lavish in dispensing awards for bravery. The “VC”, of course, the highest award for bravery in war, could be gained by a warrior of any rank or arm of the Services. Lower down the scale, certain bravery awards were reserved for officers and medals for lesser forms of bravery were provided for “Other Ranks”. With the advent of aerial bombing, in England, the “George Cross”, named after their glorious King George VI, was approved for presentation to civilians who had shown themselves courageous, under attack.

Here in Australia, we are still very proud of the numerous Victoria Crosses won by our boys, fighting Japs and Germans in two world wars. A tradition which has recently been emphasized by the naming of rest areas on the Hume Highway, after these brave but almost forgotten heroes. Whilst in itself, commendable, whoever made such a decision was, undoubtedly, an enthusiast for the preservation and enhancement of militarist traditions, which have in recent years been boosted, significantly, here in Australia. It is unfortunate, as it might clearly be interpreted as another aspect of the “glorification” of War. The creation of a “Tomb of an Unknown Soldier”, mentioned by me in one or more of my recent essays, was, undoubtedly, an allegedly important but, really, quite unnecessary addition to the public scene in Canberra, the Nation’s Capital. It gave another impetus to the militarism, which is so fashionable with our leaders, at the moment. The eagerness with which this country has been so quick to become involved on the side of the United States, in the attack upon Iraq, might have been seen, as forming an important facet of the maintenance of militarist tradition, in the minds of the people of this country. It overlooks the undoubted fact that Australians are not a warlike race and take up the sword, reluctantly, in defence of their personal freedom. We must not permit this country to be propagandised into becoming a militarist puppet of United States’ aggression.

Other nations were not behindhand in the matter of “medals” and the USA, in particular, during the Second World War, positively lavished medals upon its warriors, even before they had smelt the odour of cordite, in battle. There was a medal for being in the Forces: a medal for completing basic training: a medal for boarding a ship overseas, another for landing on friendly soil, cook’s medals, sniper’s medals: in fact, when the Yanks landed in Britain they were positively loaded with a most impressive display of awards for future heroism. There is nothing like doing things in style! That this practice prevails to the present day, is evident in the glorious array of hardware on the breasts of those generals who appear on our Television screens, from time to time. This is, no doubt, evidence of their bravery and competence to lead troops into battle against all present and future foes. We are sure that there will be many future opportunities for them to display their courage and resourcefulness.

When one considers the history of recent wars, in which both US and British forces have been engaged, one is struck by the heroism of those brave airmen who take to the skies in modern, fast, high-flying aircraft, absolutely loaded to the full with deadly bombs of all descriptions: napalm, depleted uranium, nuclear weapons, incendiaries, anti-personnel bombs, etc.. One is most impressed by the bravery of these fellows, in taking off from their bases to attack dangerous enemies, far away. That they fly at thirty-five thousand feet, far above the threat of anti-aircraft fire, to drop their deadly cargoes upon unknown and faceless men, women and children, far below, can not in any way detract from the courage they show in taking on such a dangerous trade, to carry out their orders. One must bear in mind that such activities are highly dangerous and worthy of suitable recognition in the shape of medals and awards.

The same remarks apply in the case of Naval and Ground forces, who all undertake military action against the enemies of their nations, in accordance with their patriotic duties. Our ships are, admittedly, equipped with the very latest technical devices for the detection and destruction of attacking enemy forces and are supported by modern naval air forces. Our soldiers are highly trained killing machines, equipped with fast armoured vehicles; excellent flak-jackets and helmets; (designed after the World-War Two German helmets); infra-red detection devices; night-vision scopes; heavy-duty artillery and automatic weapons, second-to-none in killing efficiency. Yet it must be conceded that warfare, of any kind, is dangerous and involves exposing our troops to the risk of death or injury, even if only from accidental or “friendly fire”. All this gives our boys (and girls) in the front line, an opportunity of showing just how brave and heroic they really are and, consequently, imposes upon each nation, the obligation of recognizing such bravery by the award of appropriate hardware. One obvious advantage to Governments in such a scheme, is that a medal costs very little to produce, yet creates a psychological idea in the mind of the recipient that his country is grateful for his sacrifice. Politicians consider that a medal is a substantial recognition of the soldier’s service. Nowadays, we must not overlook the fact that the ladies have taken up the trade of professional-killer. How effective they will prove, given the natural compassionate and tender nature of the female temperament, we cannot say. Perhaps, particular awards could be considered for those brave girls who survive their experiences under fire.

That Governments appreciate the contribution made by our deceased soldiers, is evident in the provision made for the repatriation of their dead bodies. Stout and well-constructed coffins are, no doubt, on order for the reception of those of our boys and girls who will sacrifice their lives in the service of Australia, overseas. Bedecked with the National Flag, they will receive all due ceremony on interment, with the provision of a guard of honour, which will fire a salute over the grave of the deceased. No longer will the corpses of our children be left to rot in cemeteries, overseas, where they might, perhaps, be neglected. No indeed, they will be returned home and interred in well-kept and tidy lawn cemeteries. This will, undoubtedly, be most comforting to their loved-ones, who will be able to visit their graves regularly. We take our cue, in this matter, from the example afforded us by the United States of America, which has, traditionally, taken much care in the repatriation of its war dead.

The discussion of such matters might, possibly, be considered to be in “Bad Taste” and I would most certainly agree with such a proposition. However, in much worse taste is the proposition that our children should be sent overseas to fight an uncertain enemy, in the first place, in order to gratify the murderous urges of a powerful and wicked triumvirate. This War is an evil thing and the quality of the enterprise must be brought home to the minds of everyone in this country today. We must not allow ourselves to become passive in the face of such an affront to basic human standards of decency.

All this activity, of course, involves a great boost to that abstract idea, “Patriotism!”. Patriotism and Heroism go hand in hand, together throughout the course of warfare, wherever it is waged. Those who support military action are termed, “Patriots!”: those against, “Traitors!”, “Cowards!”, etc. In fact, those who speak too volubly against War are often accused of “Treason” and this term has been used recently by the less-responsible newspapers in Australia, to describe those unfortunate Australians who supported the Muslims in Afghanistan and became involved in the war against the “Taliban” in that country. Two of these “Traitors” still languish in an American Prison in Cuba, where John Howard and his associates are content to permit them to remain at the disposition of US gaolers, without so much as a protest to their master, George W. Bush. That this detention is, in itself, illegal and criminal, does not disconcert Mr. Howard, for one moment. No doubt, the latter is annoyed to contemplate the fact that Australian nationals should support the Islamic struggle against United States domination. That such an attitude reveals a narrow and limited intellect, is clear. That this view is evidently held and supported by the members of the “Liberal” Hierarchy in the present government, is appalling.

Nobody doubts the fact that Americans are “Patriotic” in the fullest sense. One understands that tiny children in every school in the United States, except perhaps the occasional private school, regularly each morning attend a ceremony, which is termed, “Saluting the Flag”. I have only witnessed such scenes when portrayed on films or television programmes, yet it appears to me that they are designed to inculcate within the tender breasts of these children a deep and lasting patriotism: a love of their blessed country. Now this is most commendable! It takes the form of a short prayer, calling upon the Deity to bless their country and this is accompanied by an hymn, the words of which conform fully to this supplication. The “Stars and Stripes” flag; symbol of US World Supremacy, is unveiled with grand solemnity. Teachers and children now place their right hands upon their hearts, repeating a solemn affirmation to faithfully uphold the laws and traditions of their great country: following which, the children troop off to commence lessons for the day. Such ceremonies may well have become fashionable in other parts of the world and, it is rumoured, in many schools in this thrice-blessed land of Australia, the aping of this American practice, has been adopted by enthusiastic, if unthinking, teachers. My own view is that the inculcation of such enthusiasm for one’s national ties, detracts from the greater responsibility that we all have, as adults, to inculcate within the minds of our little-ones, a love and consideration for all humankind, rather than confine our loyalties within our own narrow and limited environment.

Thus, I see “Patriotism” as the “root of all evil”, when it comes to the question of human relationships and the evolution of mankind. When we glorify War and perceive ourselves as the centre of the universe, we detract from the greater and more urgent necessity, for people of all races and beliefs to co-operate more fully to make this world really work for the under-privileged and down-trodden nations. We have, for generations, allowed ourselves to create images of “Heroism, Glory and Patriotism” to blind us to our primary obligations. No longer can the people of the privileged “West” consider themselves divinely ordained to lord it over the nations of the Third World. No longer can the world permit its resources to be squandered by the United States in its relentless lust for dominion and power, over the rest of human-kind. We are all members of one world nation: there can no longer be “Free” or “Slave” States. Recent migrations on the grand scale have emphasized the fact that we are all, more and more, brothers and sisters of one grand family of Man.

The only true “Heroism” or “Patriotism” in the life of the body, lies in the spirit of universal love (consideration) and compassion for the tribulation and suffering of those who are much worse-off, in material terms than we, who have the benefits of education and a standard of living that is the envy of most of the world. America seeks to gather together its abundance of good things and to have the enjoyment of them, for eternity: spite of the needs of the Third World. It cannot be, neither will such a policy result in universal peace and stability. We are witnessing at this very moment, the catastrophic consequences of the lust of pride and patriotism that, so sadly and destructively, mar the image of the United States of America in the eyes of the world.

Let the killing cease and the working together for the happiness of all, commence.

Finis

John Roberts,

Sydney, Australia

29th March 2003

mailto:robertsjno@gmail.com