The National Organization for Women (NOW) is building for a rally in New York City April 29. The rally is a good thing, but stickers for the rally advertise that "Peace is Patriotic: Let them kNOW it."
In imperialist countries that believe they have won their wars, it is inevitable that most people calling themselves patriotic support endless global war. NOW tries to finesse this problem.
For MIM, this has always been an idiotic argument either way. What needs discussion is why an organization dedicated to gender issues makes Amerikan patriotism the focus of its peace sticker.
Likewise, the call for the rally is for "democracy." Perhaps NOW should add "the American way," "Chevrolet" and "apple pie."
The only way the whole argument makes sense is that one side says endless war is good for the united $tates, probably because it always wins or gets something out of the war. Indeed, Mussolini said endless war was a good thing in the encyclopedia entry he wrote on the definition of fascism. According to Mussolini, "War alone brings up to its highest tension all human energy and puts the stamp of nobility upon the peoples who have courage to meet it. All other trials are substitutes."
Imperialism creates the economic situation where Mussolini's philosophy is possible. By leeching off people internationally it is possible to embark on endless wars and still feed, clothe and shelter the soldiers, security people, weapons manufacturers etc. Militarism as it exists today is a parasitic phenomenon. An ongoing lifestyle of war is not something that occurs to citizens with a close connection to a productive way of life. Even the funding for the U.S. Government comes from borrowing money abroad.
If endless war is not good for a dominator nation like Mussolini said, then it becomes stupid to say war is either patriotic or unpatriotic. At some point war has to end, so there has to be an argument about that. Knee-jerk patriots that we meet by the millions tend not to admit it and they attempt to shut down arguments with blind calls to patriotism. NOW reacts to the blindness, but ends up humoring it.
As far as MIM knows, Mussolini is not supposed to be a part of American values. On the other hand, if NOW sees so many people saying war is the only patriotic thing, then maybe NOW should admit that patriotism has become fascism. American values are a figment of the imagination: what we have in reality are Amerikkkan values. If so many people say war is the only patriotic thing that NOW has to issue stickers about patriotism instead of feminism, then we should admit social facts. Patriotism has become fascism.
NOW also clouds its own agenda by its patriotic approach to peace. Wimmin are an international group. If wimmin only existed in the united $tates, then NOW's approach would be justified. As the world's dominator, the united $tates does more to divide-and-conquer wimmin than any other country. There is no avoiding that anti-Amerikkkanism is good for the international unity of wimmin.
Jefferson would have counted MIM and NOW patriotic. He defined patriotism as concern about the issues in one's country. The people sitting on the couch eating potato chips without a political concern in the world could be the definition of unpatriotic. Being "for one's country," "just because" is not much different than sitting on the couch. The trouble is that most people are not using the word "patriotism" the way Jefferson did, so NOW's approach makes no sense to most people. The language is missing. We cannot sensibly tell a people that is more likely to know the judges on "American Idol" than the "First Amendment" that NOW is patriotic. That would presume that they know the definition of "patriotic."
"Patriotism" as invented by intellectuals should not be used without regard for the thoughts of the people. We should treat "patriotism" as it concretely exists, the way large groups of people practice it.
For the rights of toilers and wimmin, for the environment polluted most by Amerikans and for world peace, anti-Amerikkkanism is necessary. If and since Amerikans themselves do not value the rights of toilers and wimmin, the environment and peace, there is no point in being patriotic. By the time they properly appreciate toilers, wimmin, the environment and peace, Amerikkkans won't be Amerikkkans anymore.