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Quote by Sherman Alexie

“Hell, sometimes it feels like the whole country is on fire. Like a constant conflagration is burning too close to all poor people. Shouldn't rich-ass America be taking care of everybody?”

Book:You Don't Have to Say You Love Me

Work

You Don't Have to Say You Love Me

This book delves into the complexities of family relationships, focusing on the intricate emotional bonds between parents and children. more

Author

Sherman Alexie

Sherman Alexie is an American poet, writer, and actor, known for his works that reflect the life of Native Americans. He was born on October 7, 1966, and grew up in the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation in Rainier, Washington. more

“Wherever a man of vigour and stature manages to grow up, he is haled forthwith into the army. A soldier, as Bernard Shaw has said, 'ostensibly a heroic and patriotic defender of his country, is really an unfortunate man driven by destitution to offer himself as food for powder for the sake of regular rations, shelter, and clothing.”

Class Poverty Military Britain

Book:The People of the Abyss

Source: The People of the Abyss

“The smartest person to ever walk this Earth in all probability lived and died herding goats on a mountain somewhere, with no way to disseminate their work globally even if they had realised they were super smart and had the means to do something with their abilities. I am not keen on 'who are the smartest' lists and websites because, as Scott Barry Kaufman points out, the concept of genius privileges the few who had the opportunity to see through and promote their life’s work, while excluding others who may have had equal or greater raw potential but lacked the practical and financial support, and the communication platform that famous names clearly had. This is why I am keen to develop, through my research work, a definition of genius from a cognitive neuroscience and psychometric point of view, so that whatever we decide that is and how it should be measured, only focuses on clearly measurable factors within the individual’s mind, regardless of their external achievements, eminence, popularity, wealth, public platform etc. In my view this would be both more equitable and more scientific.”

Science Poverty Creativity Genius Social Justice Injustice Intelligence Equality Smart People Psychometrics

Author:Gwyneth Wesley Rolph

“[...] our technology and our economic system seem to produce the present bad situation: millions of people feel themselves poor and powerless; millions feel that music is something to be made only by experts.”

Culture Music Poverty

Book:Where Have All the Flowers Gone?: A Singer's Stories, Songs, Seeds, Robberies

Source: Where Have All the Flowers Gone?: A Singer's Stories, Songs, Seeds, Robberies

“A child who has slept all night in a stuffy, overcrowded room, and then breakfasts on a cup of weak tea and a piece of bread, can hardly be expected to show a sharp, sustained interest in the abstractions of arithmetic, and the unrelated niceties of correct spelling. Punishment (or the threat of it) for this lack of interest is unlikely to bring the best out of him.”