Matriotism by Cindy Sheehan

Matriotism

By Cindy Sheehan

Much as I wish I could take credit for the word "matriotism," another woman wrote to me and gave me the concept. I was so intrigued by the word that I have been meditating on the possible ideology behind it, and a new paradigm for true and lasting peace in the world.

Before I dive into the concept of Matriotism, let's explore the word "patriotism." Dictionary.com defines it as: love of country and willingness to sacrifice for it. When we all know that patriotism in the US means: exploiting others' love for country by sending them and their children off to sacrifice for my bank balance!

There have been volumes written about patriotism, defining it, supporting it, challenging the notion of it, etc. I believe the notion of patriotism has been expediently and nefariously exploited, and used to lead our nation into scores of disastrous and needless wars. The idea of patriotism has virtually wiped out entire generations of our precious young people and has allowed our nation's leaders to commit mass murder on an unprecedented scale. The vile sputum of "if you aren't with us, then you are against us" is basically the epitome of patriotism gone wild. After the tragedy of 9/11 we were on our way to becoming a fledgling Matriotic society until our leaders jumped on the bandwagon of inappropriate and misguided vengeance to send our young people to die and kill in two countries that were no threat to the USA or to our way of life. The neocons exploited patriotism to fulfill their goals of imperialism and plumder.

This sort of patriotism begins when we enter kindergarten and learn the nationalist "Pledge of Allegiance." It transcends all sense when we are taught the "Star Spangled Banner," a hymn to war. In our history classes the genocide of the Native American peoples is glossed over as we learn about the spread of American Imperialism over our continent, though it wasn't named until the 1840's, when the doctrine of Manifest Destiny was expounded to justify the USA's conquest of and "civilizing" of Mexican territories and Native American populations. Manifest Destiny sought to spread the "the boundaries of freedom" to the American Continent, with the notion that we have a special mission from God. Sound familiar?

All through school, we are brainwashed into believing that somehow our leaders are always right and certainly have our best interests at heart when they wave the flag and convince us to hate fellow human beings who stand in the way of making immense profits from war. As Samuel Johnson said, patriotism is the "last refuge of a scoundrel."

Matriotism is the opposite of patriotism…not to destroy it, but to be a yin to its yang, and balance out the militarism of patriotism.

Not everyone is a mother, but there is one universal truth that no one can dispute no matter how hard they try (and believe me, some will try): Everyone has a mother! Mothers give life, and if the child is lucky, mothers nurture life. And if a man has had a nurturing mother he will already have a base of Matriotism.

A Matriot loves his/her country but does not buy into the exploitive phrase of "My country right or wrong." (As Chesterton said, that's like saying, "My mother, drunk or sober.") A Matriot knows that her country can do a lot of things right, especially when the government is not involved. For example, I know of no other citizens of any country who are more personally generous than those of America. However, a Matriot also knows that when her country is wrong, it can be responsible for murdering thouands upon thousands of innocent and unsuspecting humans. A true Matriot would never drop an atomic bomb or bombs filled with white phosphorous, carpet bomb cities and villages, or control drones from thousands of miles away to kill innocent men, women and children.

There is one most important thing that matriots would never do, however, and this is the key to stopping killing to solve problems: a matriot would never send her child or another mother's child to fight nonsense wars…and she would march into a war that she considered just to protect her child from harm. Aha! Matriots would fight their own battles, but take a dim view of having to do so, and would seldom resort to violence to solve conflict! Patriots hide behind the flag and eagerly send young people to die to fill their own pocketbooks.

Women flocked to Camp Casey inAugust to run the huge enterprise and work for peace, and women from all over the US and the world have invited me to visit and speak and advocate for true and lasting peace. Men, who are in touch with the matriot inside of them, have also been important to the cause of eradicating war.

Whether you are a male or female Matriot, Code Pink Alert, endorsed by Gold Star Families for Peace, is calling for an International Day of Peace on March 8 th…called for, organized by, and supported by women. Women and men with matriotic tendencies can get more info and endorse the call for peace at: www.womensaynotowar.org. It is past time for we Matriots to get together to stridently call for an end to the immoral bloodshed in Iraq.

I know one thing from the bottom of my heart. My son, Casey, who was an Eagle Scout and a true American patriot, was not served well by his idea of patriotism. I will never forgive myself for not trying to counteract more the false patriotism he was raised on, with a true sense of Matriotism.

I also know that the women of the world who don't have a voice, such as the mothers of Iraq who are struggling just to survive in their needlessly destroyed country, are counting on us women who do have voices to use them to end George Bush's manifestly idiotic doctrine of preemptive wars of aggression based on the justification that "I think that country might be dangerous to me and my pals."

War will end forever when we matriots stand up and say: "No, I am not giving my child to the fake patriotism of the war machine which chews up my flesh and blood to spit out obscene profits."

"It is not for him to pride himself who loveth his own country, but rather for him who loveth the whole world. The earth is but one country and mankind its citizens." ~Baha'u'llah

Matriotism above all is a commitment to the truth, and to celebrating the dignity of all life.

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Venezuela Hosting World Social Forum

By CHRISTOPHER TOOTHAKER, Associated Press WriterMon Jan 23, 3:45 PM ET

President Hugo Chavez, reveling in his role as leftist icon, is bringing together tens of thousands of activists from across the world on Tuesday to promote Latin America's fast-growing anti-globalization movement.

Leftist leaders are increasingly popular across Latin America, while Chavez's own "revolution" for the poor has become an inspiration for like-minded activists everywhere.

More than 60,000 had signed up for this week's World Social Forum in Caracas as of Monday and tens of thousands more were expected, organizers said. They include campaigners against U.S.-style free trade, environmentalists, Indian leaders and human rights activists.

About half were expected to come from outside Venezuela.

Their views span a wide spectrum, but most participants appear united by strong opposition to the U.S. government and the war in Iraq. The forum will begin with an "anti-imperialist" march Tuesday through the streets of Caracas, with protesters likely to aim their chants against President Bush.

"Venezuela has become an epicenter of change on the world level," Chavez said Friday, referring to the event in a speech. "That's why (U.S.) imperialism wants to sweep us away, of course ... because they say we are a bad example. But they haven't swept us away and they won't."

The Venezuelan leader is expected to address activists on the sidelines of the gathering, soaking up the spotlight as a leading radical voice of the Latin American left.

Chavez has repeatedly accused U.S. officials of plotting to overthrow his "revolutionary" government and warned that Venezuela, the world's fifth-largest petroleum exporter, would cut off oil shipments to the United States if it ever invades his country.

Chavez has used a windfall in oil profits to funnel millions of dollars into programs for the poor while raising Venezuela's profile internationally by extending preferential oil deals to countries from China to Argentina in an effort to line up alternative trade partners to the United States, the No. 1 buyer of Venezuelan oil.

The World Social Forum was first held in Brazil in 2001 and coincides each year with the market-friendly World Economic Forum of political and business leaders in Davos, Switzerland.

Those at the social forum, in contrast, traditionally criticize free trade and denounce the evils of capitalism — stances that closely mirror Chavez's socialist views.

"The U.S. government, especially under the Bush administration, has been trying to force its own economic polices on developing countries, and I think all of us here agree that must stop," said Jeff Monahan, a 32-year-old organic farmer from Battle Creek, Mich.

"I'm sure there will be plenty of Bush-bashing when this gets under way," said Monahan, who arrived early and was helping put up canopies in a city park where thousands will camp out in tents.

Some 2,000 events — including seminars, speeches, concerts and craft fairs — will be held across Caracas during this week's forum.

"The world is changing, and I think leaders like Chavez can provide interesting examples of what can be doneto ensure it changes for the better," said Moritz Lange, 24, who came from Bremen, Germany, to help to organize the forum.

Others expected to attend include Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano, Argentine Nobel Peace Prize winner Adolfo Perez Esquivel and U.S. anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan, whose son was killed in Iraq in 2004 and who set up a protest camp near Bush's Texas ranch last year.

It was not clear whether other leftist leaders from Latin America would come. Some activists said they hoped to see Presidents Evo Morales of Bolivia or Fidel Castro of Cuba. Brazil's Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva initially was expected, but then said he would not come.

The recent rise of left-leaning governments in Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay and Chile makes the event a timely forum to exchange ideas, said Miguel Tinker Salas, a Latin American studies professor at Pomona College in Claremont, Calif.

"It's an opportune moment, given what's happening in Latin America and the fact that it brings together these various political forces on the left," Tinker Salas said in a telephone interview.

This year's social forum is being held in three spots around the world, including one ending Monday in Bamako, Mali, and another two months from now in Karachi, Pakistan. The Venezuela forum is the main event and the smaller forums are meant to make it more accessible to people in other regions.

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Alaska Army National Guard Spc. Jacob Melson's mother, Teresa Melson, left, his widow, Sarah Melson, center and his father Alaska Army National Guard Capt. Mark Melson, center right, hold the flags given to them during a funeral for the fallen Guardsman at the Fort Richardson National Cemetery in Anchorage, Alaska, Friday Jan. 20, 2006. Melson died when an Army National Guard helicopter crashed in Iraq on Jan. 7, 2006 killing him and three other Alaska Army National Guardsmen. The four Alaska Army National Guard crew members were among the 12 people who died in the helicopter crash. (AP Photos/Al Grillo)