--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I believed we could know what was…" description: "\"“I believed we could know what was happening to us. We were not excluded from our own lives. That is not my head on someone else's body in the photogra..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be9/don-delillo-294_believed_i-believed-we-could-know-what-was-happen_371044.jpg" --- # I believed we could know what was happening to us. We were… ![“I believed we could know what was happening to us. We were not excluded from our own lives. That is not my head on someone else's body in the photograph that's introduced as evidence. I didn't believe that nations play-act on a grand scale. I lived in the real.” quote by Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be9/don-delillo-294_believed_i-believed-we-could-know-what-was-happen_371044.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be9/don-delillo-294_believed_i-believed-we-could-know-what-was-happen_371044.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be9/don-delillo-294_believed_i-believed-we-could-know-what-was-happen_371044.jpg) > ““I believed we could know what was happening to us. We were not excluded from our own lives. That is not my head on someone else's body in the photograph that's introduced as evidence. I didn't believe that nations play-act on a grand scale. I lived in the real.”” [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator rejects feeling detached from his own life, insisting on personal agency despite societal narratives that try to define him. **In simple terms:** Insist on living your own life, not others' narratives. Key Takeaway Stay aware of personal agency amid external stories. Themes identity agency reality media influence Mood introspective critical Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - daily life - media consumption - personal reflection - political discourse Key Concepts existentialism postmodern critique Questions to Reflect On - What stories shape your sense of self? - How do you resist external definitions? A Different Perspective May overlook structural forces that limit agency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Believe Nations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe-nations-3385232/) [Believed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believed/) [Believed Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believed-know-3385231/) [Didn Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/didn-believe/) [Evidence Didn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evidence-didn-3316075/) ## Related quotes > [I have heard from my father and mother all the answers that faith in God could offer to those who doubt and search for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-bashevis-singer/i-have-heard-from-my-father-and-mother-all-the-answers-that-faith-in/) [Isaac Bashevis Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-bashevis-singer/) > [The O.J. Simpson case, they had no understanding of that DNA evidence, and didn't want to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-wambaugh/the-o-j-simpson-case-they-had-no-understanding-of-that-dna-evidence/) [Joseph Wambaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-wambaugh/) > [ Actually, he gave false evidence \[of chemical weapons\]. In this case,\[John\] Kerry didn't even present any evidence. He talked "we have evidence" and he… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bashar-al-assad/actually-he-gave-false-evidence-of-chemical-weapons-in-this-case-john/) [Bashar al-Assad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bashar-al-assad/) > [“If the evidence didn’t fit the conclusions of investigators, one photo would sell the Oswald assassin story.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-brussell/if-the-evidence-didn-t-fit-the-conclusions-of-investigators-one-photo/) [Mae Brussell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-brussell/) > [For my part, I have ever believed, and do now know, that there are witches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-browne/for-my-part-i-have-ever-believed-and-do-now-know-that-there-are/) [Thomas Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-browne/) > [Nothing is so firmly believed as that which we least know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/nothing-is-so-firmly-believed-as-that-which-we-least-know/) [Michel De Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Nothing is so firmly believed as what we least know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/nothing-is-so-firmly-believed-as-what-we-least-know/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [I knew German history well, and out of my experiences in the rest of the world I believed to know the German kind; therefore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-knew-german-history-well-and-out-of-my-experiences-in-the-rest-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I just believed it easily, the way you might believe and in fact remember that you once had another set of teeth, now vanished…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/i-just-believed-it-easily-the-way-you-might-believe-and-in-fact/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) > [“It wasn't that she didn't believe in love; but she no longer believed in it for herself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-kalotay/it-wasn-t-that-she-didn-t-believe-in-love-but-she-no-longer-believed/) [Daphne Kalotay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-kalotay/) > [In the end you regret less the things you believed that weren't true than the things that never came true because you didn't believe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/in-the-end-you-regret-less-the-things-you-believed-that-weren-t-true/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [ He \[Groucho's father\] had absolutely no training, and if you had ever seen one of his suits, you'd realize what an accurate statement that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/he-groucho-s-father-had-absolutely-no-training-and-if-you-had-ever/) [Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/) > [In the past, I have said no to work that I didn't believe in, even though it may have meant not having anything in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rohit-saraf/in-the-past-i-have-said-no-to-work-that-i-didn-t-believe-in-even/) [Rohit Saraf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rohit-saraf/) > [I turned to my mom and said, 'I'm going to be a martial arts movie star.' She didn't believe me, and neither did my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adkins/i-turned-to-my-mom-and-said-i-m-going-to-be-a-martial-arts-movie-star/) [Scott Adkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adkins/) > [“She herself vacillated when it came to belief. She did not particularly believe in God. Or, rather, she didn't believe in a particular God.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allegra-goodman/she-herself-vacillated-when-it-came-to-belief-she-did-not/) [Allegra Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allegra-goodman/) ## More by Don DeLillo > [“We all know how the thing we secretly fear is not a secret at all but the open and eternal thing that predicts its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/we-all-know-how-the-thing-we-secretly-fear-is-not-a-secret-at-all-but/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [Everything is barely weeks. Everything is days. We have minutes to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/everything-is-barely-weeks-everything-is-days-we-have-minutes-to-live/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [The novel is the dream release, the suspension of reality that history needs to escape its own brutal confinements.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-novel-is-the-dream-release-the-suspension-of-reality-that-history/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“As I listened I thought a featureless baggy man was striking me in slow motion with a well-polished stone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/as-i-listened-i-thought-a-featureless-baggy-man-was-striking-me-in/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“Murray said, 'I don't trust anybody's nostalgia but my own. Nostalgia is a product of dissatisfaction and rage. It´s a settling of grievances between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/murray-said-i-don-t-trust-anybody-s-nostalgia-but-my-own-nostalgia-is/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“She is beginning to think it is possible that all creation is a spurt of blank matter that chances to make an emerald planet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/she-is-beginning-to-think-it-is-possible-that-all-creation-is-a-spurt/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“Those who have abandoned belief must still believe in us. They are sure that they are right not to believe but they know belief…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/those-who-have-abandoned-belief-must-still-believe-in-us-they-are/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“The plane had lost power in all three engines, dropped from thirty-four thousand feet to twelve thousand feet. Something like four miles. When the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-plane-had-lost-power-in-all-three-engines-dropped-from-thirty/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“Grass: I live in a great steel tower that reflects the blazing sun. People catch fire just walking by. The more bodies that pile…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/grass-i-live-in-a-great-steel-tower-that-reflects-the-blazing-sun/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“What people discard could make a nation”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/what-people-discard-could-make-a-nation/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“Marriage is something we make from available materials. In this sense it’s improvised, it’s almost offhand. Maybe this is why we know so little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/marriage-is-something-we-make-from-available-materials-in-this-sense/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [The true life is not reducible to words spoken or written, not by anyone, ever. The true life takes place when we're alone, thinking,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-true-life-is-not-reducible-to-words-spoken-or-written-not-by/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [I've come to think of Europe as a hardcover book, America as the paperback version.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/i-ve-come-to-think-of-europe-as-a-hardcover-book-america-as-the/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [There is a set of balances and rhythms to a novel that we can't experience in real life. So I think there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/there-is-a-set-of-balances-and-rhythms-to-a-novel-that-we-can-t/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“There is no lie in war or preparation of war that can't be defended. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/there-is-no-lie-in-war-or-preparation-of-war-that-can-t-be-defended/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) [Explore all 699 Don DeLillo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) ## More Believed quotes > [Behind every successful child is an adult who believed in him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/behind-every-successful-child-is-an-adult-who-believed-in-him/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [Though my grandmother had picked up modern ideas in America, she still had some conflicting 19th-century Irish notions. She believed that daughters, educated though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosemary-mahoney/though-my-grandmother-had-picked-up-modern-ideas-in-america-she-still/) [Rosemary Mahoney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosemary-mahoney/) > [“I didn't know if I believed in 'happily ever after' anymore. I mean, I didn't know what would happen tomorrow, let alone for forever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-kate-strohm/i-didn-t-know-if-i-believed-in-happily-ever-after-anymore-i-mean-i/) [Stephanie Kate Strohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-kate-strohm/) > [Alfred Nobel believed that social changes are brought about slowly, and sometimes by indirect means.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertha-von-suttner/alfred-nobel-believed-that-social-changes-are-brought-about-slowly/) [Bertha von Suttner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertha-von-suttner/) > [Aaron Spelling always had his finger on the pulse of pop culture, he knew what the public wanted to see. He was one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alyssa-milano/aaron-spelling-always-had-his-finger-on-the-pulse-of-pop-culture-he/) [Alyssa Milano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alyssa-milano/) > [I never believed that they was such thing as love at first sight but I think I'm having that feeliing @sarahlovemoody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mishack/i-never-believed-that-they-was-such-thing-as-love-at-first-sight-but/) [Mishack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mishack/) > [“I wish I believed him. He's looking at me like he can see where I begin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-mcnamara/i-wish-i-believed-him-he-s-looking-at-me-like-he-can-see-where-i-begin/) [Amy McNamara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-mcnamara/) > [My life had been defined by the apartheid years. Now we were going into an era of democracy... and I believed that I didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/athol-fugard/my-life-had-been-defined-by-the-apartheid-years-now-we-were-going/) [Athol Fugard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/athol-fugard/) > [On March 12, 2004, acting attorney general James B. Comey and the Justice Department's top leadership reached the brink of resignation over electronic surveillance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barton-gellman/on-march-12-2004-acting-attorney-general-james-b-comey-and-the/) [Barton Gellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barton-gellman/) > [No statement should be believed because it is made by an authority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/no-statement-should-be-believed-because-it-is-made-by-an-authority/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [I never believed I'd have a six-pack, especially not at 35 years old. I always thought it was a genetic blessing. It's not. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sullivan-stapleton/i-never-believed-i-d-have-a-six-pack-especially-not-at-35-years-old-i/) [Sullivan Stapleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sullivan-stapleton/) > [“For a moment, I believed you.” He ordered me, dryly, recovering his usual poise again. He does not only have a selective hearing, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tionne-rogers/for-a-moment-i-believed-you-he-ordered-me-dryly-recovering-his-usual/) [Tionne Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tionne-rogers/) > [There was a time when idealistic folksingers such as myself believed that Reality TV was a programming vogue that would peak and recede, leaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-wolcott/there-was-a-time-when-idealistic-folksingers-such-as-myself-believed/) [James Wolcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-wolcott/) > [I felt uneasy, but sometimes, like I said before, I believed in Col. North and there was a very solid and very valid reason…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fawn-hall/i-felt-uneasy-but-sometimes-like-i-said-before-i-believed-in-col/) [Fawn Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fawn-hall/) > [And upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, warranted by the Constitution, upon military necessity, I invoke the considerate judgment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salmon-p-chase/and-upon-this-act-sincerely-believed-to-be-an-act-of-justice/) [Salmon P. Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salmon-p-chase/) [Browse all 1,214 Believed quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believed/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I believed we could know what was happening to us. We were not excluded from our own lives. That is not my head on someone else's body in the photograph that's introduced as evidence. I didn't believe that nations play-act on a grand scale. 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