MichaelMoore.com

I don't want to die in a fight that I don't believe in.

From: David Moronez
To: contributions@michaelmoore.com
Subject: Standing up
Date: 12/2/2005

Dear Michael,

I am going to make this brief because I simply do not have enough time right now.

I am in the Marine Corps, and we had a formation in the morning. It was a formation just to make sure that everyone was accounted for. Well they also let you know what is going on for the day, who has to do what, etc. They then asked who wanted to volunteer to go to Iraq. Now there were about 30 of us in this formation. The platoon sergeant went down the list asking people if the answer was yes or no. Nearly everyone said yes...

I was towards the end of the list. When the platoon sergeant called off my name, I said, sternly, "No." It was as if my answer echoed off of all of the hills around us. Everyone turned and looked at me like I was crazy.

Later people said that I was scared to go, and half jokingly made fun of me for saying no. I simply told them that I wasn't afraid to die for my country, because I really do love this country. I just didn't want to die for oil. My blood in weight isn't worth as much as the oil over there, apparently. I don't want to die in a fight that I don't believe in.

Afterwards some people came up to me and told me that even though they said yes, they really didn't want to go. We are all asked in front of each other to pressure us into saying yes, but I defiantly said no.

Thanks for listening.

Lance Corporal, David Moronez

-- "When I was a kid, we were so poor that if I wasn't born a boy I would have had nothing to play with."
~ Rodney Dangerfield
May he rest in peace, and forever be remembered.