In ninth grade my government teacher, Susan Duncan, distributed a survey quizzing students on their convictions. At this time, the words "freedom" and "rights" still resonated with me as ideals so sacred that I felt lucky and privileged just because my family was able immigrate to the United States. After answering the preliminary questions about rights and freedoms, I got to a set of questions for which, at the time, my answers were strikingly drone-like and clichd, as if they were programmed into my head. The questions asked: "What would you stand up for? What would fight for? What would you die for?" My answers were that I would stand up for people's rights and that I would fight and die to preserve freedom.

Those answers came too easily back then. Subconsciously, they were the right answers for America, something I probably thought all Americans believe, and consciously they seemed to express my hopes of what I would do when situations threatening my rights, other's rights and American freedom arose. Back then, I really believed that if my freedom was threatened, I'd go and defend it. Back then, it seemed as simple as black and white.

Yet deep down inside I must have felt, or must have thought I knew, that the call for my generation to defend freedom, similar to the call of World War II, was not going to come. After all, the civil rights movement had already happened, Soviet communism was dead or dying and America was beginning to prosper under President Clinton.

While the idealism of the answers meant the world to me, I answered those questions lightly. Saying things about myself I wanted to be true, but I didn't know if, when came time for my generation to turn to carry the torch of liberty, I'd actually stand up for what I believe, fight for my right to believe or die for my freedom to have the right to stand up for my beliefs.

Nevertheless, thinking back now-and I've been thinking about this since the thought of war was suggested by President Bush-I would answer them exactly the same, had I to answer those questions again.

It is ironic that what prompted me to write this column was Michael Moore's movie Fahrenheit: 9/11, since the false conjectures in his previous movie Bowling for Columbine repulsed me so much that I considered switching my party affiliation from unaffiliated to Republican. Despite my feelings toward him, I watched his latest cinematic op-ed. Looking past everything else in the movie that could be debated, I focused on the question he asked members of Congress: Do their sons or daughters serve in Iraq?

I asked myself a similar question. Would I willingly join the Army to fight in Iraq? Almost instantly, my answer was no. The logical follow-up question was then: What would I willingly fight for? I soon remembered that questionnaire I had filled out in high school almost seven years earlier. Did my answers still ring true? Would I fight for my rights and my freedom?

It soon became clear: Yes, I would. However, because I did not-and continue not-to feel that my rights, my freedoms or my life were endangered by Saddam Hussein I did not feel the urgency in the war. As John Kerry so eloquently stated during the first debate, Iraq did not attack us on Sept. 11-al Qaeda did. And despite the current spin that Iraq sponsored terrorism, which any person who has followed what's going on knows is complete malarkey, I do not support this war-even if, as it's now rightly being billed, it's a humanitarian endeavor, rescuing people from a brutal dictator.

Ultimately I came to the conclusion that the United States needs to pull out of Iraq, because I would not risk my life to bring democracy to Fallujah. Leaving a job half done is bad, but I am unwilling to sacrifice another American life in my name if I am not willing to give mine for the same cause.

If you are at Brandeis, sitting in your cozy room, enjoying the fruits of this country and rolling your eyes upon reading this, I ask simply: What are you still doing here? Go enlist. If you feel Iraq is such a grave threat to your freedom, that we needed to invade it, then why haven't you signed up? Why are you letting someone else who joined the military-possibly to pay for college-do your bloody work for you?