I know Great Spirit is looking down upon me from above, and will hear what I say.
Sitting BullRead
Strangely enough, they have a mind to till the soil, and the love of possessions is a disease in them.
Interpretation
This quote highlights the contrast between simple living and materialism.
Sitting Bull reflects on the nature of humanity, suggesting that while people have the innate desire to cultivate and nurture their surroundings, they are often afflicted by an unhealthy attachment to material possessions, which can be seen as a societal disease. This observation invites contemplation on the balance between the appreciation of the earth and an overemphasis on ownership and wealth.
In practice
This quote could be shared in a discussion on minimalism and living simply.
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.
I have no doubt that the nation has suffered more from undue secrecy than from undue disclosure. The government takes good care of itself.
One is a member of a country, a profession, a civilization, a religion. One is not just a man.
How do we remember to remember? That's a question I've asked myself often since my time on Duma Key, often in the small hours of the morning, looking up into the absence of light, remembering absent friends. Sometimes in those little hours I think about the horizon. You have to establish the horizon. You have to mark the white. A simple enough act, you might say, but any act that re-makes the world is heroic. Or so I've come to believe.
You lose your individuality a huge amount when you have no money, and I certainly had that experience.
With every cell of my being and with every fiber of my memory I oppose the death penalty in all forms. I do not believe any civilized society should be at the service of death. I don't think it's human to become an agent of the angel of death.
Above literature?' said the Queen. 'Who is above literature? You might as well say one was above humanity.
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