What's this all about?

So, I decided to start a blog.  I have a story to tell, but I'm too disorganized to tell it in something like a book.  I need a way to reach an audience in bits and pieces, as ideas occur to me, and as my life unfolds around me.  You see, I'm a war resister living in Canada.  I used to be a member of the US military.  I'm not anymore- that's no longer a part of my identity.  A few years ago, I came to the realization that there was simply no way forward anymore with the military.  I won't bore you with the details of exactly what I saw and participated in that led me to that decision.  There are plenty of websites where you can read bios that are quite similar to my own, and you'd learn enough of that from any one of those.  That's not the point of this particular blog.  My intention here is to help others understand what things in Canada look like from the point of view of an expatriated war resister, fighting for a chance to live normally again.

A few years have passed since I made my way to Canada and asked for refugee protection from the US government (to more than a few incredulous looks from Canadian immigration officials).  Since then, my life has been in suspended animation.  I knew there was not an easy road ahead when I made this decision, but I never expected this.  There is a wall of ideological resistance between me and a normal, healthy life.  I'm not trying to paint myself as some sort of victim, mind you.  I don't want your pity.  I just want your attention for a little while.  Being a war resister has become my new identity, whether I like it or not.  Politics doesn't end for me when I flip the radio or television off.  The lives of me and others like me hinge on the actions of an Immigration Minister that seems bent on a scorched-earth approach to immigration reform.  Political resistance isn't a weekend engagement for us, it's day-to-day life.  If you're interested in what the view looks like from the back of that particular horse, or simply want to know how this all turns out, I invite you to follow along.