Northland Age
  • Northland Age home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Rural
  • Opinion
  • Kaitaia weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Far North
  • Kaitaia
  • Kaikohe
  • Bay of Islands
  • Whangārei

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whangārei
  • Dargaville

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Northland Age

Letter to the Editor - Thursday June 21, 2012

Northland Age
20 Jun, 2012 10:35 PMQuick Read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article


Shabby historicism

I strongly endorse your editorial concerning the 41 returned men who served in Vietnam and the justification for their service being honoured by Kaitaia College (Patriotic fervour? June 13).

These men and my alma mater have nothing but my profound respect, just as I honoured my father's generation serving in many ways during WWII and my grandfathers' serving in WWI. At the same time I reserve my right as a citizen to honour my grandmother's equally heroic efforts in the mid-1930s to campaign against war and fascism, until the Labour Party decided to align its foreign policy with Mother England.

It is political opportunism and shabby historicism to use today's values to evaluate judgements made in the past in very different contexts.

Further to your editorial, however, I would suggest we look past mere selected principles to the appalling consequences of post traumatic stress disorder caused by engagement in warfare. This is to argue that the unintended and unwitting victims of PTSD also need to be honoured, and above all, supported.

REYNOLD MACPHERSON

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Sydney

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Northland Age

Northland Age

Far North talent shines as Smokefreerockquest returns to Kerikeri

07 Jul 02:00 AM
Northland Age

Eight Northland stores caught selling vapes to under-18s in compliance test

06 Jul 11:09 PM
Northland Age

Far North news briefs: Foodbank closes, focus on vape harm, and kai resilience boost

02 Jul 05:00 PM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Northland Age

Far North talent shines as Smokefreerockquest returns to Kerikeri

Far North talent shines as Smokefreerockquest returns to Kerikeri

07 Jul 02:00 AM

Local act Bandwith Riot won first place.

Eight Northland stores caught selling vapes to under-18s in compliance test

Eight Northland stores caught selling vapes to under-18s in compliance test

06 Jul 11:09 PM
Far North news briefs: Foodbank closes, focus on vape harm, and kai resilience boost

Far North news briefs: Foodbank closes, focus on vape harm, and kai resilience boost

02 Jul 05:00 PM
On The Up: Youth gym transforms lives, offers more than just exercise

On The Up: Youth gym transforms lives, offers more than just exercise

02 Jul 12:00 AM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • The Northland Age e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to The Northland Age
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The Northland Age
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP