(Not) Who We Are<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Nothing shows us more starkly what we don't want to be than what, in our worst moments, we do in fact become.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/2024\/07\/14\/not-who-we-are\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"(Not) Who We Are\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Nothing shows us more starkly what we don't want to be than what, in our worst moments, we do in fact become.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/2024\/07\/14\/not-who-we-are\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Vox Nova\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-07-14T19:38:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/769\/2024\/07\/bermix-studio-JBJGqCLopWU-unsplash-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Julia Smucker\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Julia Smucker\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/2024\/07\/14\/not-who-we-are\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/2024\/07\/14\/not-who-we-are\/\",\"name\":\"(Not) Who We Are\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-07-14T19:38:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-07-14T19:38:54+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/#\/schema\/person\/e0277cf90bf320044a3256735af342c6\"},\"description\":\"Nothing shows us more starkly what we don't want to be than what, in our worst moments, we do in fact become.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/2024\/07\/14\/not-who-we-are\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/2024\/07\/14\/not-who-we-are\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/2024\/07\/14\/not-who-we-are\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"(Not) Who We Are\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/\",\"name\":\"Vox Nova\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/#\/schema\/person\/e0277cf90bf320044a3256735af342c6\",\"name\":\"Julia Smucker\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8639cd2e58e4ed9c475ff4911dfe4857?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8639cd2e58e4ed9c475ff4911dfe4857?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Julia Smucker\"},\"description\":\"Julia Smucker is a Mennonite who has come into full communion with the Catholic Church, or a Catholic profoundly and gratefully shaped by her Mennonite heritage (depending on who she\u2019s talking to), and has been involved for several years with the ecumenical group Bridgefolk. 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{"id":34608,"date":"2024-07-14T14:38:54","date_gmt":"2024-07-14T19:38:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/?p=34608"},"modified":"2024-07-14T14:38:54","modified_gmt":"2024-07-14T19:38:54","slug":"not-who-we-are","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/2024\/07\/14\/not-who-we-are\/","title":{"rendered":"(Not) Who We Are"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

We hear it from leaders of all stripes, any time violence breaks out: \u201cThis is not who we are.\u201d<\/p>\n

My first response when I hear this is generally cynicism: clearly, the fact that \u201cthis\u201d has happened means that we have shown it to be exactly<\/em> who we are. But then, as I think about it<\/a>, I see the underlyingly aspirational nature of such statements. In other words, what they\u2019re really saying is, \u201cThis is not who we want to be.\u201d And nothing shows us more starkly what we don\u2019t want to be than what, in our worst moments, we do in fact become.<\/p>\n

One of the things we are here in the United States of America is a society with a long and deep infatuation with violence in many ways. Some of these ways, to some degree, manifest themselves with a distinctly American flavor, though we are by no means unique in the trust we place in violence to solve problems. And every time violence is turned to as a problem-solver\u00a0anywhere<\/em>, it risks spiraling into the self-feeding cycle<\/a> where every action is justified by the previous one.<\/p>\n

Already, some have begun to seize on the narrative violence provides, sweeping up<\/a> any legitimate criticism with appeals to violence as one and the same. One person\u2019s terrible choice to respond to the threat of autocracy with immediate, tangible violence has enabled this narrative by making the would-be autocrat a victim, which can only make the actual threat<\/a> worse \u2013 an all-too-perfect example of how violence is not only immoral, but also ineffective<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Perhaps what is most dangerous about the present moment is that this is, in part, who we are: a people that puts its faith in violence to save us. It\u2019s true that the temptation to trust in violence is a deep-seated part of our fallen human condition more broadly. But it\u2019s also true that we can choose to turn from it. The desperate declarations from all sides that \u201cthis is not who we are,\u201d even if somewhat naive, contain the desire (also deep within the human condition) to choose a better way. So yes, this is who we are. But it\u2019s not all we are. And it\u2019s not who we inevitably must be.<\/p>\n

By reminding ourselves of \u201cwho we are\u201d in our better aspirations, may we allow it to become true in fact.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"