By Rev. Clay Nelson

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Rev. Clay Nelson © 24 April 2016

Introduction – The White Poppy.

Tomorrow is the 100th observance of ANZAC Day. The first was one year after 2779 New Zealanders, 8500 Australians, 44,000 from France and Britain and their empires, and 87,000 Turks died at Gallipoli. It is a day of remembrance for those sacrificed on foreign soil for “King and Country.” It is as popular as it ever was. Thousands will rise early to attend the Dawn Parade. They will hear prayers, sing Lest we forget, listen to Laurence Binyon’s fourth verse from his poem For the Fallen:

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

I hope a few of those stirred to tears during the playing of The Last Post will also remember those 2600 brave souls who in the face of tremendous public scorn opposed the folly of war. Conscientious objectors paid a high price. They lost their civil rights, including being denied voting rights for 10 years and being barred from working for government or local bodies. At least 273 were imprisoned for failing to serve, some of them Unitarians. Continue reading War against peace hidden in Panama Papers →