Reply #31: "True civilization

[H2O Man]

lies in the dominance of self and not the dominance of other people. ... Is not humanness a matter of heart and mind, and is it not evident in the form of relationship with people? Is not kindness more powerful than arrogance? And truth more powerful than the sword? ... I am going to venture that the man who sat on the ground in front of his lodge, meditating on life and its meaning, accepting the kinship of all creatures, and acknowledging unity with the universe of things was infusing into his being the true essence of civilization. And when native man left off this form of development, his humanization was retarded in growth."

-- Luther Standing Bear, (Land of the Spotted Eagle)