“A Call to Action”
By: Marc Ortiz
Tags: Military, Refugees, Veterans

“A Call to Action”

The month and year have been lost through the passage of time, but I remember the moment quite vividly. I was in the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles at the end of the tour viewing a short video. The video depicted the US Army liberating one of the concentration camps in Germany. My exact thoughts while viewing this were “I have the opportunity to a be a part of something greater. An opportunity to help those that cannot help themselves.” It was a deep, emotional, and introspective moment. I believe it represents who I am at my core — a person who will defend those that cannot defend themselves and it is the primary reason I joined the US Army as an officer.

On July 19th, 2019, I saw clips of a campaign rally with the crowd chanting “Send her back.” I looked down, shook my head, and thought to myself “Is this what has become of our country?” For an entire week, I mulled over this question and others. Is this really the country I risked my life for while deployed to Baghdad, Iraq? I knew 17 US Army soldiers who were killed while deployed. What would they think at this critical moment in our country’s history? I thought about one of my West Point classmates and fellow math major. We worked on a few math projects together and I considered him one of the most gregarious persons one could meet. What would he think at this moment? What would he think of the divisiveness in our country today? What would he think of the chants “send her back” directed at those that sought a better life for themselves and their children? I wish I could ask him; he lost his life on May 25th, 2006 during the War in Iraq. I asked myself, how can I honor his and the 16 others’ sacrifice to our country?

After a week of contemplating these questions, I came to this final conclusion: I could no longer sit on the sidelines. It was time to prematurely end my two-year sabbatical and take action. I asked myself, what group of people can I help and make the most positive impact from a humanitarian perspective? The answer I came up with was refugees. I am now committed to finding and working with an organization whose primary focus is to help refugees. Having said that, on July 29th I formally requested to withdraw from the photography program I had been a part of over the last academic year at SMC.

To my fellow veterans, ask yourself the following questions: Is the current state of our country the one you took an oath to defend? For those that deployed in a combat zone, is our country one that you would still be willing to risk your life for? We each need to look within to answer these questions and I by no means have all the answers. I would just ask if there is any doubt in your mind to the answers above, that you look around your communities and look for areas you can make a positive impact by helping those that need help.

To my family and friends who have known about this decision for several weeks and have told me “They are proud of me”, I truly appreciate it. I would ask this of you though, don’t be proud of me, stand with me and look for places you can have a positive impact whether big or small. We all have the ability to make our country better in the smallest and biggest ways possible.

Over the past month, the following quote has given me faith that I am making the right decision:

“Few will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can work to change a small portion of events. It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.” ― Robert F. Kennedy