Sheep orSheep Dod

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I copyed this post and I thought I would share it with you.

This article is a little long, (10-15 minutes) but it may save your life one day.

On Sheep, Wolves, and Sheepdogs - Dave GrossmanThis article is a little long, (10-15 minutes) but it may save your life one day.
This article is a little long, (10-15 minutes) but it may save your life one day.

On Sheep, Wolves, and Sheepdogs - Dave Grossman

By LTC (RET) Dave Grossman, author of "On Killing."

Honor never grows old, and honor rejoices the heart of age. It does so because honor is, finally, about defending those noble and worthy things that deserve defending, even if it comes at a high cost. In our time, that may mean social disapproval, public scorn, hardship, persecution, or as always,even death itself. The question remains: What is worth defending? What is worth dying for? What is worth living for? - William J. Bennett - in a lecture to the United States Naval Academy November 24, 1997

One Vietnam veteran, an old retired colonel, once said this to me:

"Most of the people in our society are sheep. They are kind, gentle, productive creatures who can only hurt one another by accident." This is true. Remember, the murder rate is six per 100,000 per year, and the aggravated assault rate is four per 1,000 per year. What this means is that the vast majority of Americans are not inclined to hurt one another. Some estimates say that two million Americans are victims of violent crimes every year, a tragic, staggering number, perhaps an all-time record rate of violent crime. But there are almost 300 million Americans, which means that the odds of being a victim of violent crime is considerably less than one in a hundred on any given year. Furthermore, since many violent crimes are committed by repeat offenders, the actual number of violent citizens is considerably less than two million.

Thus there is a paradox, and we must grasp both ends of the situation: We may well be in the most violent times in history, but violence is still remarkably rare. This is because most citizens are kind, decent people who are not capable of hurting each other, except by accident or under extreme provocation. They are sheep.

I mean nothing negative by calling them sheep. To me it is like the pretty, blue robin's egg. Inside it is soft and gooey but someday it will grow into something wonderful. But the egg cannot survive without its hard blue shell. Police officers, soldiers, and other warriors are like that shell, and someday the civilization they protect will grow into something wonderful.? For now, though, they need warriors to protect them from the predators.

"Then there are the wolves," the old war veteran said, "and the wolves feed on the sheep without mercy." Do you believe there are wolves out there who will feed on the flock without mercy? You better believe it. There are evil men in this world and they are capable of evil deeds. The moment you forget that or pretend it is not so, you become a sheep. There is no safety in denial.

"Then there are sheepdogs," he went on, "and I'm a sheepdog. I live to protect the flock and confront the wolf."

If you have no capacity for violence then you are a healthy productive citizen, a sheep. If you have a capacity for violence and no empathy for your fellow citizens, then you have defined an aggressive sociopath, a wolf. But what if you have a capacity for violence, and a deep love for your fellow citizens? What do you have then? A sheepdog, a warrior, someone who is walking the hero's path. Someone who can walk into the heart of darkness, into the universal human phobia, and walk out unscathed.

Let me expand on this old soldier's excellent model of the sheep, wolves, and sheepdogs. We know that the sheep live in denial, that is what makes them sheep. They do not want to believe that there is evil in the world. They can accept the fact that fires can happen, which is why they want fire extinguishers, fire sprinklers, fire alarms and fire exits throughout their kids' schools.

But many of them are outraged at the idea of putting an armed police officer in their kid's school. Our children are thousands of times more likely to be killed or seriously injured by school violence than fire, but the sheep's only response to the possibility of violence is denial. The idea of someone coming to kill or harm their child is just too hard, and so they chose the path of denial.

The sheep generally do not like the sheepdog. He looks a lot like the wolf. He has fangs and the capacity for violence. The difference, though, is that the sheepdog must not, can not and will not ever harm the sheep. Any sheep dog who intentionally harms the lowliest little lamb will be punished and removed. The world cannot work any other way, at least not in a representative democracy or a republic such as ours.

Still, the sheepdog disturbs the sheep. He is a constant reminder that there are wolves in the land. They would prefer that he didn't tell them where to go, or give them traffic tickets, or stand at the ready in our airports in camouflage fatigues holding an M-16. The sheep would much rather have the sheepdog cash in his fangs, spray paint himself white, and go, "Baa."

Until the wolf shows up. Then the entire flock tries desperately to hide behind one lonely sheepdog.

The students, the victims, at Columbine High School were big, tough high school students, and under ordinary circumstances they would not have had the time of day for a police officer. They were not bad kids; they just had nothing to say to a cop. When the school was under attack, however, and SWAT teams were clearing the rooms and hallways, the officers had to physically peel those clinging, sobbing kids off of them. This is how the little lambs feel about their sheepdog when the wolf is at the door.

Look at what happened after September 11, 2001 when the wolf pounded hard on the door. Remember how America, more than ever before, felt differently about their law enforcement officers and military personnel? Remember how many times you heard the word hero?

Understand that there is nothing morally superior about being a sheepdog; it is just what you choose to be. Also understand that a sheepdog is a funny critter: He is always sniffing around out on the perimeter, checking the breeze, barking at things that go bump in the night, and yearning for a righteous battle. That is, the young sheepdogs yearn for a righteous battle. The old sheepdogs are a little older and wiser, but they move to the sound of the guns when needed right along with the young ones.

Here is how the sheep and the sheepdog think differently. The sheep pretend the wolf will never come, but the sheepdog lives for that day. After the attacks on September 11, 2001, most of the sheep, that is, most citizens in America said, "Thank God I wasn't on one of those planes." The sheepdogs, the warriors, said, "Dear God, I wish I could have been on one of those planes. Maybe I could have made a difference." When you are truly transformed into a warrior and have truly invested yourself into warriorhood, you want to be there. You want to be able to make a difference.

There is nothing morally superior about the sheepdog, the warrior, but he does have one real advantage. Only one. And that is that he is able to survive and thrive in an environment that destroys 98 percent of the population. There was research conducted a few years ago with individuals convicted of violent crimes. These cons were in prison for serious, predatory crimes of violence: assaults, murders and killing law enforcement officers. The vast majority said that they specifically targeted victims by body language: slumped walk, passive behavior and lack of awareness. They chose their victims like big cats do in Africa, when they select one out of the herd that is least able to protect itself.

Some people may be destined to be sheep and others might be genetically primed to be wolves or sheepdogs. But I believe that most people can choose which one they want to be, and I'm proud to say that more and more Americans are choosing to become sheepdogs.

Seven months after the attack on September 11, 2001, Todd Beamer was honored in his hometown of Cranbury, New Jersey. Todd, as you recall, was the man on Flight 93 over Pennsylvania who called on his cell phone to alert an operator from United Airlines about the hijacking. When he learned of the other three passenger planes that had been used as weapons, Todd dropped his phone and uttered the words, "Let's roll," which authorities believe was a signal to the other passengers to confront the terrorist hijackers. In one hour, a transformation occurred among the passengers - athletes, business people and parents. -- from sheep to sheepdogs and together they fought the wolves, ultimately saving an unknown number of lives on the ground.

There is no safety for honest men except by believing all possible evil of evil men. - Edmund Burke

Here is the point I like to emphasize, especially to the thousands of police officers and soldiers I speak to each year. In nature the sheep, real sheep, are born as sheep. Sheepdogs are born that way, and so are

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wolves. They didn't have a choice. But you are not a critter. As a human being, you can be whatever you want to be. It is a conscious, moral decision.

If you want to be a sheep, then you can be a sheep and that is okay, but you must understand the price you pay. When the wolf comes, you and your loved ones are going to die if there is not a sheepdog there to protect you. If you want to be a wolf, you can be one, but the sheepdogs are going to hunt you down and you will never have rest, safety, trust or love. But if you want to be a sheepdog and walk the warrior's path, then you must make a conscious and moral decision every day to dedicate, equip and prepare yourself to thrive in that toxic, corrosive moment when the wolf comes knocking at the door.

For example, many officers carry their weapons in church.? They are well concealed in ankle holsters, shoulder holsters or inside-the-belt holsters tucked into the small of their backs.? Anytime you go to some form of religious service, there is a very good chance that a police officer in your congregation is carrying. You will never know if there is such an individual in your place of worship, until the wolf appears to massacre you and your loved ones.

I was training a group of police officers in Texas, and during the break, one officer asked his friend if he carried his weapon in church. The other cop replied, "I will never be caught without my gun in church." I asked why he felt so strongly about this, and he told me about a cop he knew who was at a church massacre in Ft. Worth, Texas in 1999. In that incident, a mentally deranged individual came into the church and opened fire, gunning down fourteen people. He said that officer believed he could have saved every life that day if he had been carrying his gun. His own son was shot, and all he could do was throw himself on the boy's body and wait to die. That cop looked me in the eye and said, "Do you have any idea how hard it would be to live with yourself after that?"

Some individuals would be horrified if they knew this police officer was carrying a weapon in church. They might call him paranoid and would probably scorn him. Yet these same individuals would be enraged and would call for "heads to roll" if they found out that the airbags in their cars were defective, or that the fire extinguisher and fire sprinklers in their kids' school did not work. They can accept the fact that fires and traffic accidents can happen and that there must be safeguards against them.

Their only response to the wolf, though, is denial, and all too often their response to the sheepdog is scorn and disdain. But the sheepdog quietly asks himself, "Do you have and idea how hard it would be to live with yourself if your loved ones attacked and killed, and you had to stand there helplessly because you were unprepared for that day?"

It is denial that turns people into sheep. Sheep are psychologically destroyed by combat because their only defense is denial, which is counterproductive and destructive, resulting in fear, helplessness and horror when the wolf shows up.


Denial kills you twice. It kills you once, at your moment of truth when you are not physically prepared: you didn't bring your gun, you didn't train. Your only defense was wishful thinking. Hope is not a strategy. Denial kills you a second time because even if you do physically survive, you are psychologically shattered by your fear helplessness and horror at your moment of truth.

Gavin de Becker puts it like this in Fear Less, his superb post-9/11 book, which should be required reading for anyone trying to come to terms with our current world situation: "...denial can be seductive, but it has an insidious side effect. For all the peace of mind deniers think they get by saying it isn't so, the fall they take when faced with new violence is all the more unsettling.

Denial is a save-now-pay-later scheme, a contract written entirely in small print, for in the long run, the denying person knows the truth on some level.

And so the warrior must strive to confront denial in all aspects of his life, and prepare himself for the day when evil comes. If you are warrior who is legally authorized to carry a weapon and you step outside without that weapon, then you become a sheep, pretending that the bad man will not come today. No one can be "on" 24/7, for a lifetime. Everyone needs down time. But if you are authorized to carry a weapon, and you walk outside without it, just take a deep breath, and say this to yourself..

"Baa."

This business of being a sheep or a sheep dog is not a yes-no dichotomy. It is not an all-or-nothing, either-or choice. It is a matter of degrees, a continuum. On one end is an abject, head-in-the-sand-sheep and on the other end is the ultimate warrior. Few people exist completely on one end or the other. Most of us live somewhere in between. Since 9-11 almost everyone in America took a step up that continuum, away from denial. The sheep took a few steps toward accepting and appreciating their warriors, and the warriors started taking their job more seriously. The degree to which you move up that continuum, away from sheephood and denial, is the degree to which you and your loved ones will survive, physically and psychologically at your moment of truth.
On Sheep, Wolves, and Sheepdogs - Dave Grossman

By LTC (RET) Dave Grossman, author of "On Killing."

Honor never grows old, and honor rejoices the heart of age. It does so because honor is, finally, about defending those noble and worthy things that deserve defending, even if it comes at a high cost. In our time, that may mean social disapproval, public scorn, hardship, persecution, or as always,even death itself. The question remains: What is worth defending? What is worth dying for? What is worth living for? - William J. Bennett - in a lecture to the United States Naval Academy November 24, 1997

One Vietnam veteran, an old retired colonel, once said this to me:

"Most of the people in our society are sheep. They are kind, gentle, productive creatures who can only hurt one another by accident." This is true. Remember, the murder rate is six per 100,000 per year, and the aggravated assault rate is four per 1,000 per year. What this means is that the vast majority of Americans are not inclined to hurt one another. Some estimates say that two million Americans are victims of violent crimes every year, a tragic, staggering number, perhaps an all-time record rate of violent crime. But there are almost 300 million Americans, which means that the odds of being a victim of violent crime is considerably less than one in a hundred on any given year. Furthermore, since many violent crimes are committed by repeat offenders, the actual number of violent citizens is considerably less than two million.

Thus there is a paradox, and we must grasp both ends of the situation: We may well be in the most violent times in history, but violence is still remarkably rare. This is because most citizens are kind, decent people who are not capable of hurting each other, except by accident or under extreme provocation. They are sheep.

I mean nothing negative by calling them sheep. To me it is like the pretty, blue robin's egg. Inside it is soft and gooey but someday it will grow into something wonderful. But the egg cannot survive without its hard blue shell. Police officers, soldiers, and other warriors are like that shell, and someday the civilization they protect will grow into something wonderful.? For now, though, they need warriors to protect them from the predators.

"Then there are the wolves," the old war veteran said, "and the wolves feed on the sheep without mercy." Do you believe there are wolves out there who will feed on the flock without mercy? You better believe it. There are evil men in this world and they are capable of evil deeds. The moment you forget that or pretend it is not so, you become a sheep. There is no safety in denial.

"Then there are sheepdogs," he went on, "and I'm a sheepdog. I live to protect the flock and confront the wolf."

If you have no capacity for violence then you are a healthy productive citizen, a sheep. If you have a capacity for violence and no empathy for your fellow citizens, then you have defined an aggressive sociopath, a wolf. But what if you have a capacity for violence, and a deep love for your fellow citizens?

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What do you have then? A sheepdog, a warrior, someone who is walking the hero's path. Someone who can walk into the heart of darkness, into the universal human phobia, and walk out unscathed.

Let me expand on this old soldier's excellent model of the sheep, wolves, and sheepdogs. We know that the sheep live in denial, that is what makes them sheep. They do not want to believe that there is evil in the world. They can accept the fact that fires can happen, which is why they want fire extinguishers, fire sprinklers, fire alarms and fire exits throughout their kids' schools.

But many of them are outraged at the idea of putting an armed police officer in their kid's school. Our children are thousands of times more likely to be killed or seriously injured by school violence than fire, but the sheep's only response to the possibility of violence is denial. The idea of someone coming to kill or harm their child is just too hard, and so they chose the path of denial.

The sheep generally do not like the sheepdog. He looks a lot like the wolf. He has fangs and the capacity for violence. The difference, though, is that the sheepdog must not, can not and will not ever harm the sheep. Any sheep dog who intentionally harms the lowliest little lamb will be punished and removed. The world cannot work any other way, at least not in a representative democracy or a republic such as ours.

Still, the sheepdog disturbs the sheep. He is a constant reminder that there are wolves in the land. They would prefer that he didn't tell them where to go, or give them traffic tickets, or stand at the ready in our airports in camouflage fatigues holding an M-16. The sheep would much rather have the sheepdog cash in his fangs, spray paint himself white, and go, "Baa."

Until the wolf shows up. Then the entire flock tries desperately to hide behind one lonely sheepdog.

The students, the victims, at Columbine High School were big, tough high school students, and under ordinary circumstances they would not have had the time of day for a police officer. They were not bad kids; they just had nothing to say to a cop. When the school was under attack, however, and SWAT teams were clearing the rooms and hallways, the officers had to physically peel those clinging, sobbing kids off of them. This is how the little lambs feel about their sheepdog when the wolf is at the door.

Look at what happened after September 11, 2001 when the wolf pounded hard on the door. Remember how America, more than ever before, felt differently about their law enforcement officers and military personnel? Remember how many times you heard the word hero?

Understand that there is nothing morally superior about being a sheepdog; it is just what you choose to be. Also understand that a sheepdog is a funny critter: He is always sniffing around out on the perimeter, checking the breeze, barking at things that go bump in the night, and yearning for a righteous battle. That is, the young sheepdogs yearn for a righteous battle. The old sheepdogs are a little older and wiser, but they move to the sound of the guns when needed right along with the young ones.

Here is how the sheep and the sheepdog think differently. The sheep pretend the wolf will never come, but the sheepdog lives for that day. After the attacks on September 11, 2001, most of the sheep, that is, most citizens in America said, "Thank God I wasn't on one of those planes." The sheepdogs, the warriors, said, "Dear God, I wish I could have been on one of those planes. Maybe I could have made a difference." When you are truly transformed into a warrior and have truly invested yourself into warriorhood, you want to be there. You want to be able to make a difference.

There is nothing morally superior about the sheepdog, the warrior, but he does have one real advantage. Only one. And that is that he is able to survive and thrive in an environment that destroys 98 percent of the population. There was research conducted a few years ago with individuals convicted of violent crimes. These cons were in prison for serious, predatory crimes of violence: assaults, murders and killing law enforcement officers. The vast majority said that they specifically targeted victims by body language: slumped walk, passive behavior and lack of awareness. They chose their victims like big cats do in Africa, when they select one out of the herd that is least able to protect itself.

Some people may be destined to be sheep and others might be genetically primed to be wolves or sheepdogs. But I believe that most people can choose which one they want to be, and I'm proud to say that more and more Americans are choosing to become sheepdogs.

Seven months after the attack on September 11, 2001, Todd Beamer was honored in his hometown of Cranbury, New Jersey. Todd, as you recall, was the man on Flight 93 over Pennsylvania who called on his cell phone to alert an operator from United Airlines about the hijacking. When he learned of the other three passenger planes that had been used as weapons, Todd dropped his phone and uttered the words, "Let's roll," which authorities believe was a signal to the other passengers to confront the terrorist hijackers. In one hour, a transformation occurred among the passengers - athletes, business people and parents. -- from sheep to sheepdogs and together they fought the wolves, ultimately saving an unknown number of lives on the ground.

There is no safety for honest men except by believing all possible evil of evil men. - Edmund Burke

Here is the point I like to emphasize, especially to the thousands of police officers and soldiers I speak to each year. In nature the sheep, real sheep, are born as sheep. Sheepdogs are born that way, and so are wolves. They didn't have a choice. But you are not a critter. As a human being, you can be whatever you want to be. It is a conscious, moral decision.

If you want to be a sheep, then you can be a sheep and that is okay, but you must understand the price you pay. When the wolf comes, you and your loved ones are going to die if there is not a sheepdog there to protect you. If you want to be a wolf, you can be one, but the sheepdogs are going to hunt you down and you will never have rest, safety, trust or love. But if you want to be a sheepdog and walk the warrior's path, then you must make a conscious and moral decision every day to dedicate, equip and prepare yourself to thrive in that toxic, corrosive moment when the wolf comes knocking at the door.

For example, many officers carry their weapons in church.? They are well concealed in ankle holsters, shoulder holsters or inside-the-belt holsters tucked into the small of their backs.? Anytime you go to some form of religious service, there is a very good chance that a police officer in your congregation is carrying. You will never know if there is such an individual in your place of worship, until the wolf appears to massacre you and your loved ones.

I was training a group of police officers in Texas, and during the break, one officer asked his friend if he carried his weapon in church. The other cop replied, "I will never be caught without my gun in church." I asked why he felt so strongly about this, and he told me about a cop he knew who was at a church massacre in Ft. Worth, Texas in 1999. In that incident, a mentally deranged individual came into the church and opened fire, gunning down fourteen people. He said that officer believed he could have saved every life that day if he had been carrying his gun. His own son was shot, and all he could do was throw himself on the boy's body and wait to die. That cop looked me in the eye and said, "Do you have any idea how hard it would be to live with yourself after that?"

Some individuals would be horrified if they knew this police officer was carrying a weapon in church. They might call him paranoid and would probably scorn him. Yet these same individuals would be

[oly]

enraged and would call for "heads to roll" if they found out that the airbags in their cars were defective, or that the fire extinguisher and fire sprinklers in their kids' school did not work. They can accept the fact that fires and traffic accidents can happen and that there must be safeguards against them.

Their only response to the wolf, though, is denial, and all too often their response to the sheepdog is scorn and disdain. But the sheepdog quietly asks himself, "Do you have and idea how hard it would be to live with yourself if your loved ones attacked and killed, and you had to stand there helplessly because you were unprepared for that day?"

It is denial that turns people into sheep. Sheep are psychologically destroyed by combat because their only defense is denial, which is counterproductive and destructive, resulting in fear, helplessness and horror when the wolf shows up.


Denial kills you twice. It kills you once, at your moment of truth when you are not physically prepared: you didn't bring your gun, you didn't train. Your only defense was wishful thinking. Hope is not a strategy. Denial kills you a second time because even if you do physically survive, you are psychologically shattered by your fear helplessness and horror at your moment of truth.

Gavin de Becker puts it like this in Fear Less, his superb post-9/11 book, which should be required reading for anyone trying to come to terms with our current world situation: "...denial can be seductive, but it has an insidious side effect. For all the peace of mind deniers think they get by saying it isn't so, the fall they take when faced with new violence is all the more unsettling.

Denial is a save-now-pay-later scheme, a contract written entirely in small print, for in the long run, the denying person knows the truth on some level.

And so the warrior must strive to confront denial in all aspects of his life, and prepare himself for the day when evil comes. If you are warrior who is legally authorized to carry a weapon and you step outside without that weapon, then you become a sheep, pretending that the bad man will not come today. No one can be "on" 24/7, for a lifetime. Everyone needs down time. But if you are authorized to carry a weapon, and you walk outside without it, just take a deep breath, and say this to yourself..

"Baa."

This business of being a sheep or a sheep dog is not a yes-no dichotomy. It is not an all-or-nothing, either-or choice. It is a matter of degrees, a continuum. On one end is an abject, head-in-the-sand-sheep and on the other end is the ultimate warrior. Few people exist completely on one end or the other. Most of us live somewhere in between. Since 9-11 almost everyone in America took a step up that continuum, away from denial. The sheep took a few steps toward accepting and appreciating their warriors, and the warriors started taking their job more seriously. The degree to which you move up that continuum, away from sheephood and denial, is the degree to which you and your loved ones will survive, physically and psychologically at your moment of truth.

By LTC (RET) Dave Grossman, author of "On Killing."

Honor never grows old, and honor rejoices the heart of age. It does so because honor is, finally, about defending those noble and worthy things that deserve defending, even if it comes at a high cost. In our time, that may mean social disapproval, public scorn, hardship, persecution, or as always,even death itself. The question remains: What is worth defending? What is worth dying for? What is worth living for? - William J. Bennett - in a lecture to the United States Naval Academy November 24, 1997

One Vietnam veteran, an old retired colonel, once said this to me:

"Most of the people in our society are sheep. They are kind, gentle, productive creatures who can only hurt one another by accident." This is true. Remember, the murder rate is six per 100,000 per year, and the aggravated assault rate is four per 1,000 per year. What this means is that the vast majority of Americans are not inclined to hurt one another. Some estimates say that two million Americans are victims of violent crimes every year, a tragic, staggering number, perhaps an all-time record rate of violent crime. But there are almost 300 million Americans, which means that the odds of being a victim of violent crime is considerably less than one in a hundred on any given year. Furthermore, since many violent crimes are committed by repeat offenders, the actual number of violent citizens is considerably less than two million.

Thus there is a paradox, and we must grasp both ends of the situation: We may well be in the most violent times in history, but violence is still remarkably rare. This is because most citizens are kind, decent people who are not capable of hurting each other, except by accident or under extreme provocation. They are sheep.

I mean nothing negative by calling them sheep. To me it is like the pretty, blue robin's egg. Inside it is soft and gooey but someday it will grow into something wonderful. But the egg cannot survive without its hard blue shell. Police officers, soldiers, and other warriors are like that shell, and someday the civilization they protect will grow into something wonderful.? For now, though, they need warriors to protect them from the predators.

"Then there are the wolves," the old war veteran said, "and the wolves feed on the sheep without mercy." Do you believe there are wolves out there who will feed on the flock without mercy? You better believe it. There are evil men in this world and they are capable of evil deeds. The moment you forget that or pretend it is not so, you become a sheep. There is no safety in denial.

"Then there are sheepdogs," he went on, "and I'm a sheepdog. I live to protect the flock and confront the wolf."

If you have no capacity for violence then you are a healthy productive citizen, a sheep. If you have a capacity for violence and no empathy for your fellow citizens, then you have defined an aggressive sociopath, a wolf. But what if you have a capacity for violence, and a deep love for your fellow citizens? What do you have then? A sheepdog, a warrior, someone who is walking the hero's path. Someone who can walk into the heart of darkness, into the universal human phobia, and walk out unscathed.

Let me expand on this old soldier's excellent model of the sheep, wolves, and sheepdogs. We know that the sheep live in denial, that is what makes them sheep. They do not want to believe that there is evil in the world. They can accept the fact that fires can happen, which is why they want fire extinguishers, fire sprinklers, fire alarms and fire exits throughout their kids' schools.

But many of them are outraged at the idea of putting an armed police officer in their kid's school. Our children are thousands of times more likely to be killed or seriously injured by school violence than fire, but the sheep's only response to the possibility of violence is denial. The idea of someone coming to kill or harm their child is just too hard, and so they chose the path of denial.

The sheep generally do not like the sheepdog. He looks a lot like the wolf. He has fangs and the capacity for violence. The difference, though, is that the sheepdog must not, can not and will not ever harm the sheep. Any sheep dog who intentionally harms the lowliest little lamb will be punished and removed. The world cannot work any other way, at least not in a representative democracy or a republic such as ours.

Still, the sheepdog disturbs the sheep. He is a constant reminder that there are wolves in the land. They would prefer that he didn't tell them where to go, or give them traffic tickets, or stand at the ready in our airports in camouflage fatigues holding an M-16. The sheep would much rather have the sheepdog cash in his fangs, spray paint himself white, and go, "Baa."

Until the wolf shows up. Then the entire flock tries desperately to hide behind one lonely sheepdog.

The students, the victims, at Columbine High School were big, tough high school students, and under ordinary circumstances they would not have had the time of day for a police officer. They were not bad kids; they just had nothing to say to a cop. When the school was under attack, however, and SWAT teams were clearing the rooms and hallways, the officers had to physically peel those clinging, sobbing kids off of them. This is how the little lambs feel about their sheepdog when the wolf is at the door.

Look at what happened after September 11, 2001 when the wolf pounded hard on the door. Remember how America, more than ever before, felt differently about their law enforcement officers and military personnel? Remember how many times you heard the word hero?

Understand that there is nothing morally superior about being a sheepdog; it is just what you choose to be. Also understand that a sheepdog is a funny critter: He is always sniffing around out on the perimeter, checking the breeze, barking at things that go bump in the night, and yearning for a righteous battle. That is, the young sheepdogs yearn for a righteous battle. The old sheepdogs are a little older and wiser, but they move to the sound of the guns when needed right along with the young ones.

Here is how the sheep and the sheepdog think differently. The sheep pretend the wolf will never come, but the sheepdog lives for that day. After the attacks on September 11, 2001, most of the sheep, that is, most citizens in America said, "Thank God I wasn't on one of those planes." The sheepdogs, the warriors, said, "Dear God, I wish I could have been on one of those planes. Maybe I could have made a

[WolfVanZandt]

I like to think that humans were meant to be Dahl sheep - not the stupid things that people raise on ranches. I'm still convinced that God created wildness. There's very little difference between a dog and a wolf - basically, a dog is a wolf that never grows up - that's what domestication does to people.

There's a popular theory among anthropologists that the relationship between humans and wolves is the thing that kickstarted but civilization and domestication of dogs.

Werewolves, during the Middle Ages, despite the modern cinematographic model, were called the Dogs of God and were protectors of the community and, later, the church. They were a form of the Medieval Benandate (Good Walker). The picture was altered considerably during the Renaissance when the church included the Werewolves as one of their targets during the Inquisition. Partially that was due to the peasant Benandante getting "too big for their britches" and making their trade into a business. Partially it was because the Werewolves were an early party of Protestants.

A Fable

A certain shepherd had a dog which faithfully did the shepherd's bidding, He cared for the flock making sure that they were safe from predators and that they were provided the best grazing. He did not particularly like the sheep because they were quarrelsome and butted him and would kick him if he gave them an opportunity. But he loved them for the sake of the shepherd who relied on him.

There was also a pack of wolves in the area that would have decimated the flock if it were not for the dog who was ever vigilant to drive off any intruder.

Unfortunately the dog had to eat occasionally and the old leader of the wolf pack was a wise old wolf. He determined when the dog ate his noonday meal and took to hanging around the sheepfold while the dog ate. He didn't do anything that would particularly alarm the sheep and after some time, they took him as a matter of course.

One day the old wolf explained that he liked hanging around the sheep but he could only do so while the dog was eating; it was such an antagonistic beast.

The old ram, patriarch of the flock, agreed with the wolf that the dog was troublesome and that he did not like him much. He was too pushy.

"Why do you keep him around then?" asked the wolf. "You certainly don't need him to protect you. You can take care of the flock quite as well as he."

"I guess you are right," returned the old ram, "but the shepherd seems to like him."

"The shepherd would like you to be independent so he would not have to spend money on the upkeep of a dog. You should kill the dog and you would be free of the irritation.

"Maybe...." said the ram. "Maybe."

So the next morning when the dog went out to the flock, the sheep crowded him, and butted and trampled him to death.

The shepherd loved his dog and grieved mightily his death. Also, he knew that he would never again be able to trust the sheep to allow another dog to live with them so he sold the land and the flock to a man who cared nothing for the flock and left to rebuild a flock elsewhere.

The sheep got along quite well without the dog and the shepherd. The land was good and provided them with plenty of food and water and the structures were still there to allow them respite from the weather.

Only one thing puzzled the old ram. His flock was getting smaller and smaller. The sheep did not seem discontented. They just up and left occasionally. He did not know why.

And the flock lived quite happily and the flock continued to diminish, until there was only the old ram.

One day the wise old wolf visited the ram and asked why he was so glum.

"My flock has left me and I don't know why?" the old ram answered.

The old wolf leapt the fence and said, "Well, I must make an admission. Your sheep are part of my pack now."

Astonished, the ram exclaimed, "And are sheep joining wolf packs now."

"Indeed they are as will you very shortly."

Suddenly a disquiet fell over the old ram as the wolf continued, "Y'know, that shepherd's dog was a wolf, too. There was only one difference between us. Whereas he loved the flock but he didn't like them; I and my wolves really like sheep, but we don't love them." That said, he leapt on the old ram and ate him.

[sgtmcboom]

I agree 110% I feel that way all the time. I hate that there are so many people that want to blame objects for evil in the world. There are no evil objects just evil people that use them. In my heart I am a sheepdog. I have a first aid kit in my truck and fire extinglisher I help people change tires on the side of the road sometimes because I have been there myself. I have helped turtles cross the road because I would hate for them to get hit by a car. I will be getting my CCW permit within the next month thats my next step. I was still in school durring 9/11 and I was one of the people that said man I wish I was on that plane.

[kyratshooter]

Nice to know that feudalism with its warrior nobility and unarmed peasant serfs is still alive and well.

You got your Shepherd= king, dictator
Got your sheepdogs= nobility/military/LEO
got your sheep= peasants

That was sort of what our nation was founded to get away from!

Nice to know it is so easily accepted in our land of the free and home of the brave.

[WolfVanZandt]

Not really, Kyrathooter. If you look into the documents of the time, America saw itself as a British colony - British through and through, until well into the revolution.

I'm fond of the American myth, but it's not here now. The Sheep part is simply the part that a large part of the populace wants to accept today - not the Dahl sheep but the stupid domesticated kind.

My favorite Anthony Hopkins film is "Instinct". At one point, Hopkin's character pins the prison psychologist down and tells him that he will kill him if he doesn't tell what he has taken from him. He gives him three tries. One wrong answer was, "Freedom". The correct answer was his illusion of freedom. If I walk out my front door, I'm on someone else's land (my landlord's). If I walk a little further, I'm on someone else's land and they don't want me there. How am I free?

But I'm a Christian, my Shepherd isn't a king or dictator. Nor is it a president. And many, if not most, of the Founders had the same Shepherd.

I'm something else also and what I am is pathologically incapable of seeing the myth instead of the reality. I don't filter like most people. I don't have the kind of selective memory that most people have. It can be a curse at times but I can't help thinking that what the US did to the Native Americans back in the early days of the country and what it did to Japanese-American citizens in the last century, it could easily do to me and my kind tomorrow. I appreciate the freedoms we do have but I don't have the illusion of freedom that was taken from Cuba Gooding's character in "Instinct".

[Phaedrus]

Great story! It's something everyone should think about. The only part I disagree with is the idea that a sheepdog becomes a sheep without his gun- not so! A firearm is just a tool, your true weapon is your brain. To be prepared for the wolves you have to unlearn being helpless when you're not armed with a firearm.

[BENESSE]

Great story! It's something everyone should think about. The only part I disagree with is the idea that a sheepdog becomes a sheep without his gun- not so! A firearm is just a tool, your true weapon is your brain. To be prepared for the wolves you have to unlearn being helpless when you're not armed with a firearm.

+1, Phaedrus.

[Wildthang]

The sad part is that it seems like the sheep dog is slowly becoming a thing of the past. Society seems to be trying to discourage the sheep dogs existance and does not realize what the effects will be on the sheep in the long run. As the story said, the sheep did not really like the sheep dog, and did not understand the protection he provides!

[WolfVanZandt]

Sheepdogs will never be gone entirely. It's a natural balance. When there's a "sheepdog deficit" nature steps in and spontaneously produces more. They're called "atavisms". They're a step back into wildness. Now, whether there are enough to be effective or whether the sheep kicks in all their brains, that's another thing.

[kyratshooter]

Not really, Kyrathooter. If you look into the documents of the time, America saw itself as a British colony - British through and through, until well into the revolution.

I'm fond of the American myth, but it's not here now. The Sheep part is simply the part that a large part of the populace wants to accept today - not the Dahl sheep but the stupid domesticated kind.

My favorite Anthony Hopkins film is "Instinct". At one point, Hopkin's character pins the prison psychologist down and tells him that he will kill him if he doesn't tell what he has taken from him. He gives him three tries. One wrong answer was, "Freedom". The correct answer was his illusion of freedom. If I walk out my front door, I'm on someone else's land (my landlord's). If I walk a little further, I'm on someone else's land and they don't want me there. How am I free?

But I'm a Christian, my Shepherd isn't a king or dictator. Nor is it a president. And many, if not most, of the Founders had the same Shepherd.

I'm something else also and what I am is pathologically incapable of seeing the myth instead of the reality. I don't filter like most people. I don't have the kind of selective memory that most people have. It can be a curse at times but I can't help thinking that what the US did to the Native Americans back in the early days of the country and what it did to Japanese-American citizens in the last century, it could easily do to me and my kind tomorrow. I appreciate the freedoms we do have but I don't have the illusion of freedom that was taken from Cuba Gooding's character in "Instinct".

So which are you following, the Bible or the movie? I do not spend much time in the movies or put much stock in the repeated words of their scripts. I would much prefer to base society on the views of Jefferson, Madison, Hamiltion and Adams than Cuba Godding and Hanibal the Canibal! I am an elder in my church and I also hold a masters degree in History so I have done some work reviewing both areas. Don't remember the Jewish scholars or shepards holding much respect for dogs.

Are we at the "shall not speak against God's anointed" part yet. That is a handy one too. All we need is for God to start annointing sheepdogs and leaving it up to the sheepdog to tell us he is annointed.

My neighbor has a little bitty dog that makes lots of noise and has no concept of how small it actually is! My chickens chase him out of the yard daily. I doubt he would be muck problem for a sickly coyote, much less a wolf. Dogs have no concept of their actual size.

Our founders were very conscious of the class system of Europe, and included a prohibition of granting or receiving titles of nobility specifically in our Constitution. Yes our nation has treated many people wrongly, why would that mean we suddenly need a military class instead of the citizen soldiers that have always preserved our "freedoms".

The "Sheepdog" analogy is an old one, and works for you as long as you see yourself as the sheepdog.

[WolfVanZandt]

Mostly the Bible and experience. I don't trust the media but Instinct rings true.

The Jewish people generally thought little of dogs. Of course, they thought very little of Gentiles also. But, then, the term Jesus used to talk to the Syro-phoenecian woman was a term used to refer to a pet dog, so they weren't completely disdained.

Are we at the "shall not speak against God's anointed" part yet. That is a handy one too.

I don't know what you're getting at with that but it sounds a little hostile. Certainly emotionally loaded.

I didn't see that the writer was talking so much about classes as he was types of personalities.

Citizen soldiers have always assured our freedoms? Are you talking about the National Guard? I'd agree with that. Are you talking about the KKK or the street gangs? They talk about themselves as soldiers. Which citizen soldiers are you talking about in the last, oh, century?

And are you making unfounded assumptions about me?

[ElevenBravo]

I didnt get to read it, but I will...

However, Im none of the above. Im a wolf... having the capacity to defend my group with great vigor if so needed, otherwise I avoid confict.

I lead by example, not by demand. I follow as I see fit, but not out of blind dedication. I seek to be a pacifist and hope to avoid conflict, and if aggression comes to me I will meet with with a greater amount of aggression so it disperses and I can be left to my devices.

I am a wolf in human's clothing. Leave me be and there will be no problems. I seek solitude and peace, and harmony with nature. Intrude and you will know, you have met a wolf for I have fangs.

[BENESSE]

Well, I'm human, and mighty proud of it.

[WolfVanZandt]

ElevenBravo, you probably won't like the author's idea of a wolf.

[Phaedrus]

The part of the analogy that breaks down is that the article says people dislike sheepdogs because they look like wolves. Perhaps true in part, but it's also because sheepdogs, when not kept on a short leash, can run with the wolves. In the US we have a healthy distrust of authority, and the Founders were not in favor of a standing army in peacetime. Soldiers with nothing to do are dangerous to freedom, so they thought. Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? This is always in the mind of an American.

[WolfVanZandt]

Heh, sheepdogs, because of their breeding and handling, have the disturbing habit of trying to "herd" people, which may include nipping at them to get them moving. And they're working dogs so, if you don't keep them busy, they'll make a nuisance of themselves.

Me, though, I like sheepdogs.

As for soldiers, there are plenty of wolves in the military and on police forces. Sheep, too. People are people. I like them as individuals or I don't like them as individuals.

The big place where I differ is that the "wolves" in modern society that prey on people aren't wolves; they're feral dogs.

[kyratshooter]

Well, I'm human, and mighty proud of it.

This exacty why this analogy is false and dangerous.

In all conflicts, social and military the first thing that is done is the dehumanization of the enemy or subject in question. We have the "N" word, the Q word, the "S" word for hispanics, the "G" word for orientals. We even pile all russians into the group called Ivan. Lets not forget the Micks, Whops and Polocks. We used Kraut, Jerry, Nip and Jap for our enemies in WW2, they were the Huns in WW1. Before that we fought Lobsterbacks, Redcoats and Frogs. Don't forget the condition of the only good "Redskins". Right now we are fighting "ragheads", Hadgies and the one from the gulf war, "Sand N"

And let us not forget the new and most important label, the one applied to US by government and media; PREPPERS!!

Labeling people sheep, sheepdogs and wolves is just placing them in a box so they can be killed, ignored or disposed of with impunity. There are people in this discussion that would wash their childrens' mouths out with soap if they used the "N" word, but who are using the word "Sheep" in the same context.

There is grave danger in accepting the dehumanizing philosophy. The Nazis used it to the maximum and it ended in the deaths of 2/3 of the Jews in Europe, not to mention the Catholics, gypsies, handicapped, elderly and retareded. Anyone non-Aryan was in danger.

Yes, the Nazis almost did it. They actually "solved the problem" of 2/3 of the Jewish population of Europe by dehumanizing and eleminating the "users", "The noncontributers", "the vermin", the "dregs", which they viewed as a service to humanity. Another couple of years and they would have disposed of all the "sheep".

If there are more "sheeple" than the sheepdog can watch what does the "Sheepdog" do with the excess once he begins to fear their numbers? There was that stampde you spoke of. Perhaps time to thin the heard. Take out the barren, deformed, nonproductive, and espically the castrating and consuption of the competing rams. They might start thinking they were dominant males and start defending the flock.

There are survival forums that have banned the words "Sheep" and "Sheeple" for just this reason.