Dear President Obama and the people of America,

I’m writing to you from beyond the grave. If you’re reading this, it means that I’ve become one of the nearly two hundred innocent children slaughtered in a US drone strike. I’m writing to you because I want you to know that I understand why I had to die. I understand why it was necessary for an unmanned aerial vehicle, authorized and piloted by men thousands of miles away, to fire a hellfire missile at me while I ate, or played, or lay dreaming in my bed. While I was just as young as Trayvon Martin or Caylee Anthony…just as innocent as the children at Sandy Hook Elementary…I understand that the American media will never tell my story. I understand, President Obama, that, while I was biologically indistinguishable from your own daughters, you had to authorize the drone strike that took my young life. There’s more..

I’ve learned that many Americans (humans) will unquestioningly authorize people they perceive to possess authority to engage in the most atrocious, morally-contradictory behavior..in their names. I’ve learned that many Americans (humans) who otherwise (seemingly) detest violence, as evidenced by the outpouring of support for recent victims in Sandy Hook, the theater shooting in Colorado, and the Boston Marathon bombing, will nonetheless authorize, re-authorize and endorse a mirror image of that violence if told by authority that it’s necessary. I’ve learned that murdering an innocent child is deemed acceptable if the murderer possesses a “peace prize,” makes casual jokes about the instrument of murder, and/or calls the murder “collateral damage.”

Yes, I understand why my violent, premature death was necessary, and what made it possible:

Fear.

When my innocent family, friends, and countrymen vow to avenge my brutal slaying, you’ll have the “moral” authority to “defend” your countrymen against the people who “hate you for your freedom.” Americans will continue to live in fear of this forthcoming, predictable and utterly avoidable retribution. I understand, President Obama, that you need this fear, and that it’s essential you perpetuate this sense of otherness between the people of my country and/or faith, and the various peoples of your nation. I understand that appearing to offer or provide safety is the means by which the few can reign over the many. Finally, I also understand that, while you’re quite effectively furthering the eons-old strategy of “divide and conquer,” your efforts are doomed to fail. Slowly, people throughout the world are waking up to what they’ve known in their hearts during their entire human experience:

We’re all one.

An innocent child in Pakistan, or Yemen, or Iraq is an innocent child in Florida, or Colorado, or Connecticut. Violence begets violence…collateral damage is murder…and love conquers fear. Every time an innocent child is slaughtered in the name of “freedom,” “democracy,” or “security” the light of consciousness is born. It’s a light which, once lit, can never be extinguished. Not by fear, or drone bomb.

Take a step back, Mr. President…people of America. Look at your children. Their hearts beat with the same innocent blood that you so wantonly shed. You know this to be true. Now, remember it.

Sincerely,

Nameless, faceless innocent victim of a US drone strike

This letter was not written by an actual, deceased drone victim.