July 1956 School Magazine

:Brisbane Girls' Grammar School Magazine

July, 1956

Brisbane Girls' Grammar School Magazine

July, 1956

War is not a necessary evil. It is a man-made monstrosity, a clumsy fabricat ion of lies, fallacies, ignorance and prejudice. When every citizen of the world says " I will have no more of war," then we will know a safe, a secure, a hopeful peace.

WAR. War is a necessary evil. How far would our civilization be advanced today without wars, bringing out the best in man: his valour, his comradeship? It urges him on to advance scientifically and medically. These material advantages cer- tanly outweigh the suffering and deprivation and untold misery. " In every war Christ is the fi rst conscript, and a poor man the first casualty." In a parade of veteran soldiers there are some old and rag- ged; some prosperous; and none who have any illusions of the glory, the splendour or the neces~ity of war. Yet the boy cadets train, shouldering over-large rifles and proud of gleam- ing bayonets. In the world there are always two major rivals who indulge in all sorts of polite "mudslinging" and diplomatic cold shoulder- ing. The newspapers of the nation really enter in the spirit of the times : "Our glorious Ally" can become "that imperialistic warmonger" in a matter of months. At all times our nation has only peaceful intentions; nevertheless we must be prepared for the time when we will be ruthlessly attacked and defend our- selves to our own glory and the aggressor's discomfort. We must forgive the other side if he mistakes our essentially good intentions. Just possibly we have misinterpreted his. So the binding chain of war after war goes on. War has as its basis "survival of the fittest" and the big businessman never loses. No matter what side he is on, the armaments manufacturer rakes in the profits, from a morass of misery and loss. In the army influential people always become generals. This is the section known in the fighting forces as the "big brass", because it protects itself as much as possible. The big brass always sits safely in the rear, sticking pins into maps and sometimes riding in jeeps along crowded streets. It also leads processions while the poor man walks behind. Never, never has there been a war to a poor man's advantage. Fighting quickly loses all glory and more often than not the slogan "There's a wonderful future ahead of you in the Army" is only a bitter mockery. To kill one's fellow men in peacetime is murder; in war it becomes patriotism. The good perish more quickly than the bad, the talented die as easily as the worthless and there is no recompense. Innocent women and children are slaughtered for their ignorance, and their heroic names are never read. 40

R.S. VI B.

TO MUSIC. To music - whose strains can rouse in my breast A passionate fire, or a deep, soothing rest. Its liquid, sweet tone tells what words cannot say; It wakes in my heart as the dawning of day. It shrieks with the gale through the tops of the trees, Or whispers in cornfields stirred by a breeze. It roars like the wind as it whips the white caps, And sighs through the weed where a turquoise sea laps. The music of laughter that heralds the Spring Cheers me in memory when Winter sweeps in. The hot. lazy hum of a gold summer's day Softly seeps through the meaning of s torm fiends at bay. Its wild-pulsing beat of a savage refrain Fires my hot blood as it throbs through my brain. A picture is conjured of primitive braves, Of mystery rites, and fi re-li t cavEs. Or a candle-lit ballroom - the crinoline whirls, And is gay with cream laces, and white-powdered curls . I hear in the music the joy and the sorrow - The tears and the songs of the past and tomorrow. The joy of the skylark, the whispering zephyr Is captured in music and lingers forever. It tells cf the birth of tha t gold orb, the sun. And the death of the moon when her night course is run. To music - e thereal, too precious for mortals, Just a dream of delight glimpsed with joy through heav'ns portals; To a ma ker of music - wise or unlettered - What thoughts leave his earth form and pour forth unfettered ? -RHONDA VICKERS, IV D.

-L. SWEATMAN, IVD.

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