Today I made a special trip to see the changing of the Guard here in Santiago, It was a moment of great pomp and ceremony, and was deserving of a selfie as I waited in the forecourt.
The Changing of the Guard was a highly choreographed affair, with much fanfare and military precision. As the sound of a marching band rang out across the grounds my first thoughts turned to my grandfather who loved the sound of brass. Yet as this highly militarized performance continued my thoughts turned to my other Grandfather, who suffered a terrible war, driving tanks in the desert. For the rest of his life he was never the same man that left as a youngster to serve his country. It was appropriate to be thinking of my grandfather here in Chile as those at home in New Zealand and Australia approach ANZAC day. My grandfather was always torn about ANZAC day, between memorizing those he served with, and the risk of glorifying something so intrinsically wrong as war. I will leave each of you to form your own opinions about how we measure this fine line between glorifying war, and remembering those we lost.
I leave you with this short video from the changing of the guard. http://www.storyteller.net.au/blog/galleries/changingguard.webm