Reflection on Anu B. visit

As I mentioned in class, the thing that struck me most about Anu is the fact she identifies as three seemingly contradictory things: academic, veteran, and activist. It's not uncommon that scholars are involved in activism and vice versa, but very rarely (in my experience) do military members associate with academia or the non-profit world. I think that this is because liberal academia and non-governmental organizations are often critical of the military. That said, I like how she maintained respect for the military but not without believing the military (and our government) is incapable of any wrongdoing. She demonstrated (I think) that you can be critical of the U.S. military but can still very much be a patriotic person.