I know Great Spirit is looking down upon me from above, and will hear what I say.
Sitting BullRead
This nation is like a spring freshet; it overruns its banks and destroys all who are in its path.
Interpretation
The quote illustrates the destructive power of a nation when it becomes uncontrollable.
Sitting Bull's quote uses the metaphor of a spring freshet, a sudden and overwhelming flood, to describe the chaotic and often destructive nature of national forces. It suggests that when a nation acts without restraint or consideration for others, it can cause harm to individuals and communities in its path, emphasizing the need for responsible governance and the consequences of unchecked power.
In practice
This quote can be used in a political debate to highlight the dangers of authoritarianism.
I know Great Spirit is looking down upon me from above, and will hear what I say.
I want to tell you that if the Great Spirit had chosen anyone to be the chief of this country, it is myself.
Is it wrong for me to love my own? Is it wicked for me because my skin is red? Because I am Sioux? Because I was born where my father lived? Because I would die for my people and my country?
When I was a boy, the Sioux owned the world. The sun rose and set on their land; they sent ten thousand men to battle. Where are the warriors today? Who slew them? Where are our lands? Who owns them?
Therefore, I do not wish to consider any proposition to cede any portion of our tribal holdings to the Great Father.
I wish it to be remembered that I was the last man of my tribe to surrender my rifle.
Without sin, the universe is a Solemn Game: and there is no good game without rules.
The unspeakable visions of the individual.
In theory we understand people, but in practice we can't put up with them, I thought, deal with them for the most part reluctantly and always treat them from our point of view. We should observe and treat people not from our point of view but from all angles, I thought, associate with them in such a way that we can say we associate with them so to speak in a completely unbiased way, which however isn't possible, since we actually are always biased against everybody.
...religion is a tool to bind people together, to strengthen their unity, but like every tool, it can be mismanaged, even used in opposition to the way it should.
History isn't what happened, history is just what historians tell us.
Alcohol doesn't console, it doesn't fill up anyone's psychological gaps, all it replaces is the lack of God.
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