article_snippet.sent: The sum total of television programming, beer advertising, political grandstanding and opportunistic marketing suggests that the historical legacy of Australia's involvement in the first world war boils down to a simple equation: young (white) man plus distant beach equals sacrifice.
article_snippet.sent: To widen the scope of historical tribute, and also recall the words and deeds of the Australian men and women who fought against the prescribed route of militaristic sentiment, is to risk being branded disrespectful and divisive.
article_snippet.sent: But the unassailable fact is that the first world war ripped Australia asunder.
article_snippet.sent: Even at the time, the first world war was divisive, a historical reality belied by today's bland, blanket coverage of "the Anzac spirit".
article_snippet.sent: Australia's participation in the first world war was contested from the outset.
article_snippet.sent: Australia had the only entirely voluntary military service among the Allied forces; less than 40% of eligible men signed up to fight "for King and Country.
article_snippet.sent: There were diverse reasons for that opposition, including the anti-British sentiments of Irish Catholic Australians.
article_snippet.sent: The enduring legacies of the first world war emanate beyond the battlefields of Gallipoli, manifested not only in the "shattered Anzacs" whose families bore the burden of care, but also in the class and sectarian divisions that shaped Australia's social and political relations in the 20th century.