In the modern world, public vulnerability is always a choice, and therefore it takes on an overwhelmingly performative quality. Here’s what I mean. When communities (like churches, neighborhoods, clubs, and so on) are voluntary and “liquid,” they become places we visit rather than dwell. So when a church community or a group of friends or neighbors pressures us into vulnerability, we can retreat to our homes or smartphones. You don’t have to stick around and share your burdens with anyone, ever. One day you may “break” or be “exposed,” but you still don’t have to share. The result is that our
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