Saturday, April 26, 2014

life.pacifism.needles

I watched a play reading last night as a conscious effort to find my own resonance for what is regarded as a huge deal in Australia: Anzac Day. We have a public holiday and people get up before dawn to go into the War Memorial in droves to remember the soldiers, raise/lower the flag etc. While I have much much empathy for the soldiers who have returned from the horror of war and have to somehow continue their lives, I struggle with the air of nationalism, glory and heroism war and soldiering. Like most of humanity, I feel so averse to the idea of governments sending men to slaughter each other in fields and forests. I am newly horrified this week by a photo of our irrefutably unhinged prime minister sitting up in a war plane costing several billion dollars grinning like a boy with a new toy.

Well, last night I went to a play reading my friend Mark invited me to. It was "War Hero" written by Michael Galvin, a New Zealand actor and playwright. The play is about Archibald Baxter, who in 1916 was a pacifist conscientious objector and was tortured and punished terribly for it. I loved the experience of sitting there in the theatre with the actors all sitting in chairs reading this beautiful, funny, moving story. The experience was akin to how I remember listening to radio plays and story records as a kid. I watched the actors with fascination, but part of me could see every scene as well.
At the end, I felt so heartened that there are people telling the story of non-violent resistance to sanctioned murder. I look forward to spending the next Anzac day in a similar way, perhaps even watching the full production or listening to it as a radio play.

I have been knitting up a storm of little leaf bookmarks for the Creating a Welcome (blog here) market at Chalice Uniting Church, Northcote. It's so lovely to have something tiny and portable to knit wherever I find a spare moment. Simply an i-cord with leaf pattern from here.
Think I'll yarn along with Ginny and Natural Suburbia.

3 comments:

Lori ann said...

great title jo, it says it all.

i've made the same little leafy bookmarks, so sweet. i just saw the finches have almost reached their goal. AWESOME.

Jo Windmill said...

Yes Lori, it is so very lovely and exciting and encouraging! They are very pleased.
xxx

mamasmercantile said...

The bookmarks are adorable, such a wonderful idea.