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.
Death and vulgarity are the only two facts in the nineteenth century that one cannot explain away.
I've wondered, though, if one of the reasons we fail to acknowledge the brilliance of life is because we don't want the responsibility inherent in the acknowledgment. We don't want to be characters in a story because characters have to move and breathe and face conflict with courage. And if life isn't remarkable, then we don't have to do any of that; we can be unwilling victims instead of grateful participants.
To accept civilization as it is practically means accepting decay.
What an immense mass of evil must result...from allowing men to assume the right of anticipating what may happen.
This is true across every single society; we project grossness onto a racial or gender subgroup or caste. A big part of social subordination and discrimination is to ascribe hyper-animality to other groups and use that as an excuse for subordinating them further.
The flesh is the surface of the unknown.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.