Religion without humanity is very poor human stuff.
Sojourner TruthRead
The Lord only knows how many times I let my children go hungry rather than take secretly the bread I liked not to ask for.
Interpretation
A parent often sacrifices their own needs for the well-being of their children.
This quote by Sojourner Truth reflects the deep sacrifices parents make for their children, often prioritizing their needs above their own comfort and desires. It highlights the struggle of choosing integrity and selflessness over the pursuit of personal satisfaction, emphasizing the profound love and responsibility that comes with being a parent.
In practice
In a speech about parental love and sacrifice, this quote can underscore the importance of prioritizing children's needs.
Religion without humanity is very poor human stuff.
That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud-puddles, or gives me any best place! And ain't I a woman?
The rich rob the poor and the poor rob one another.
Good man! Genuine gentleman! God bless George Thompson, the great-hearted friend of my race.
And ain't I a woman? I have borne thirteen children, and seen most all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out with my mother's grief, none but Jesus heard me! And ain't I a woman?
Because of them I can now live the dream. I am the seed of the free, and I know it. I intend to bear great fruit.
Parentage is a very important profession, but no test of fitness for it is ever imposed in the interest of the children.
She hated being a nobody and like all children, adopted or not, I have had to live out some of her unlived life. We do that for our parents - we don't really have any choice.
I worry about my children worrying about me, feeling like they need to be the strong ones. It's not the right order of things.
Ammu loved her children (of course), but their wide-eyed vulnerability and their willingness to love people who didn't really love them exasperated her and sometimes made her want to hurt them-- just as an education, a precaution.
One of my main wishes in wanting to write about my mother was to explore the impact of her death on my life, explore our relationship, think about the different versions of myself that I was with and without her. I also had the really strong wish to bring her to life for my children, who were born after she was gone.
There are two facts that all children need to disprove sooner or later; mother and father. If you go on believing in the fiction of your own parents, it is difficult to construct any narrative of your own.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.