“This is Not Who We Are”: Confronting American Innocence in Our Lives
“This is not who we are.”
In the days after the Capitol attack, this declaration was a common refrain shared by news anchors, commentators, and politicians on both sides of the aisle. However, knowledge of American history shows us that the Capitol attack is not an anomaly — it reflects a society built upon systemic racism, violence, and American innocence.
This attack is not the first time that Americans have relied upon “this is not who we are” as a way to respond to violence and harm. In a 2015 article for the Guardian, American journalist Tim Dowling discussed how Americans use the phrase “over and over again, in response to depressingly similar situations.” Six years later, the circumstances have changed, but the rhetoric has not.
This phrase is a go-to because it allows Americans to reconcile that something bad happened with the fundamentally good and pure values that ostensibly underlie America itself. But this dichotomy is a false one: if we value abstract ideals over real harm, we are not taking responsibility for the long history of material harm that exists alongside and upholds American ideals.
New York Times editorial board member Brent Staples outlined how the Capitol riots reflect America’s history, particularly post-Reconstruction voter suppression. I suggest that you read the whole article, but I want to point out how he highlights American innocence — America’s tendency to sugarcoat our past and value ideals over actions. When we fall into its trap and ignore our past, our past comes back to haunt us in events like last week’s riots.
When I hear about American innocence now, I think about my eleventh grade history class with Dr. Rosalie Uyola. I entered the class expecting to spend the majority of time jotting down lecture notes and was surprised when we spent nearly every class in discussion, critically analyzing texts like Franz Fanon’s “On Violence,” Ho Chi Minh’s speeches, and the New York Times’ 1619 Project. I didn’t realize the value of this education until I spent the second semester of my junior year away from Hunter and noticed how my perspective on history had changed after studying and discussing a range of sources. I spent that semester working in the U.S. Capitol, and my new perspective on history allowed me to contextualize the impeachment trial I was witnessing and think critically about every politician’s speech I digested and its embedded rhetoric.
As young people coming of age in an increasingly polarized world, we have an obligation to fight against American Innocence and the violence it upholds. I wholeheartedly support the efforts of Hunter’s Social Studies department to integrate a wider variety of voices from historically underrepresented groups into our formal curriculum, and urge you to question the historical sources you are reading and seek out alternative viewpoints. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's TED Talk on The Danger of A Single Story explains the importance of studying different viewpoints, so it's a good place to start.
Confronting American innocence also means confronting yourself, which can be uncomfortable. Ask yourself: why do you believe what you do? What are the underlying assumptions of your beliefs?
Discuss recent events with your family members, and ask your siblings what content they’re watching on social media, which has been host to right-wing radicalization. If you notice rhetoric mirroring ideas of the alt-right pipeline or American Innocence, explain to people why you feel how you do. Meet people where they are. These conversations are not going to always be comfortable, but American Innocence thrives because it's a comfortable way of viewing the world.
Older generations love to say that Generation Z is going to save the world, and I bought into this thinking for a long time. However, we are not inherently good because we are younger. We are products of the world that raised us, and we have to confront the manifestations of racism and American Innocence that surround and influence us. This is exactly who we are, and it's high time we reckon with it.