Thursday, April 21, 2011

Observations from first reading of Black Elk Speaks

In my reading of Black Elk Speaks,  there was one quote that really stood out to me.  Black Elk says,
 "So I know that it is a good thing I am going to do; and because no good thing can be done by any man alone..."
No good thing can be done by any man alone.  Isn't this kind of what Bellah and Putnam have been getting at?  Voluntary associations, community, involvement, etc, make good things happen.  Without others, one is isolated and cannot accomplish very much.  But when surrounded by others who have the same views and even opposing views from you,  you can grow and change things all around you.  
Posted by at

1 comment:

  1. L. DeAne LagerquistApril 22, 2011 at 6:50 AM

    Steph,

    Have you identified two variant notions of American life? One that says, be a rugged individual who is self-reliant; and another that says, "No good thing can be done alone."? That could be a fine observation for that final essay.

    LDL

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)