French social philosopher, the late Guy Debord, wrote about what he calls the society of the spectacle. His argument is that reality is slowly being replaced by mere representation – an appearance of reality that is mediated by images and performance in which we are mere spectators. We scuttle to and fro seeking out the newest, loudest, most real experience but never quite achieve an authenticity bred from actual understanding. As Jean Baudrillard, another dead French philosopher, would say, we create a simulacra in which we attempt to find something that never existed in the first place. Its been argued that we are in the middle of the rise of a new Australian nationalism. A nationalism that its supporters say can only have sprung from the ANZAC legend and stories from Fromelles or Villers Bretonneux. Our young people are encouraged to “make the pilgrimage” to former battle grounds as if they are embarking on some spiritual journey. What they encounter is a show, a pantomime in which they are expected to not question anything they hear or ask “why”. They enter the spectacle created in a simulacra which. leaves out 'inconvenient truths' that nationalists will do anything to distract us from.

John Tognolini is a historian, teacher, broadcaster and writer. His latest book A History Man's Past and Other People's Stories: A Shared Memoir is the first in a series and the subtitle is Part 1 Other People's Wars. It's a collection of interview highlights in which he discusses past wars and the fall out from them.