"Matriotism" & "A Modest Proposal: The Mommy Bill"

[bloom]

This is dying down in GD - so I figured I would repost it here. Cindy Sheehan had an interesting article about Matriotism. And the Mad Melancholic Feminista has a good, related idea as well.


Matriotism
By Cindy Sheehan

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/6989

"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....

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 would march into a war herself 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 cowardly hide behind the flag and eagerly send young people to die to fill their own pocketbooks....

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...."

&


A Modest Proposal: The Mommy Bill

Found on http://melancholicfeminista.blogspot.com /

Friday, January 20, 2006

"...Among the adjectives that patriarchy uses to depict the figure of the mother is: self-sacrificing, selfless, nurturing, devoted, and dutiful. Contrast this with the images and phrases we associate with the soldier: making the ultimate sacrifice, heroic, patriotic, and valorous.

Could we consider the figure of the mother to be equivalent to the figure of the soldier in patriarchal thought? Do both roles perform equally valuable tasks? Are both also of equal necessity for the perpetuation of our institutions, at least as they are currently run?

I can imagine that many conservatives would happily say "yes" they are equivalent and equally valuable roles that men and women perform. Well, let's be clear, they are roles very strictly tied to biological difference. Women are mothers and men are soldiers. Right?

Why, then, does the federal government give educational grants to soldiers and not mothers? It seems to me grossly unfair. I think we need a "Mommy Bill."

...Let's see the social conservatives put their money where their mouths are. If you really value motherhood, then give women some remuneration for their services that carries with it the honor associated with the G.I. Bill..."

[ismnotwasm]

1. Well, M.A.D.D. made a difference

Do we have enough angry women? Men? Would I rage more if my child was killed in war than if killed by a drunk driver? Perhaps my rage would be too difficult to gage, because rage it would be. Not angry. Not mad. Not a grieving mother, although I'm sure I would be all those things as well. I know myself well enough to find a well spring of righteous women's rage, and I'm mature enough not to self-destruct with it.

Peace and rage are at odds with each other, but working through the insult of a child dying in a war, especially a completely illegal war, I would find the call to action in my rage, and God willing, find my way to peace with action. Maybe well all need to find that place. We don't need to lose our own child, losing our brothers and sister's children is more than enough.

War is a huge industry that needs it's gears greased frequently financially. It's a creeping, invasive truth we live with so constantly, somehow it becomes "OK" I still hear criticism's of Clinton tenure "He decimated our army" Not true by any stretch of the imagination, but he made modest some cuts in the war machine. Now we merely (as usual)cut benefits for veterans. Or inadequately supply our troops.

My daughter is out of the army, after nine years. She gets 6 months of medical benefits. Her son get none. Oh, she has her GI bill and such. But nothing that says were going to make sure you do well after your service.

She actually reenlisted after her tour in Afghanistan. The army, of course lied, and she didn't get her reenlistment contract fulfilled--She was supposed to go into a smaller striker unit non-deployable for 3 years. Didn't happen. She pulled her family plan, which was me and my disabled husband. We simply could not go through an Iraq deployment a year after she returned from Afghanistan.

As she was trying to get out of the army, they pulled every bullshit thing they could to keep her in. Despite the fact they lied. Despite the fact she no longer had adequate support or anyone to care for her son during a prolonged deployment. She's an NCO, and told me NCO's are "getting out in droves"

In army speak, where language is salty, she told her first sargent "I knew you guys were going to fuck me, I didn't know how or when, but I knew it was going to happen" Her first Sargent's response? "Well do I at least get credit for fucking you?"

She got out with the support of her old Company Commander. And this is just ONE women's story. One soldiers story. And only part of it.

So I like the idea, the concept. They want Mommies? I got your Mommy right here.

So, What if they DID give a war and no one came?