Check out Cindy Sheehan's entry today on the Huffington Post about the concept of "matriotism" -- as in "the opposite of patriotism," not meant to "destroy it, but to be a yin to its yang, and balance out the militarism of patriotism."
Matriotism is not just for girls, or for moms, Sheehan argues. After all, not everyone is or can be a mother, but 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."
So what does it mean to be a matriot? "A Matriot loves his/her country but does not buy into the exploitive phrase of 'My country right or wrong' ... A Matriot knows that her country can do a lot of things right, especially when the government is not involved ... 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."
Most important, Sheehan writes, a matriot "would never send her child or another mother's child to fight nonsense wars ... [while] Patriots hide behind the flag and eagerly send young people to die to fill their own pocketbooks."
So. Any thoughts on matriotism?
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