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On Sheep, Wolves, and Sheepdogs
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On Sheep, Wolves, and Sheepdogs I am changing gears a bit for just today. I found this story in my archives and thought it would be good to share, as food for thought. I know it is very long,I will post in two parts. It is an older article so of course some of the statistics used may be out dated. Please take a few minutes and read it. Share your thoughts. And please, if you disagree, share why also. Please remember, we do not have to agree with each other, but we must respect others opinions and thoughts. By LTC (RET) Dave Grossman, "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 ' schools. But many of them are outraged at the idea of putting an armed police officer in their 's school. Our 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 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 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 ; 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 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? |
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And the conclusion: 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 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. 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?" 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. 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.
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It is a bit stark, but is a good read, thank you
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hmm, a good analogy. I will take it one further: The Terrorist are wolf in sheep's clothing....they are hidden amongst us, but the NSA , Homeland Security, and the FBI are sheep dogs who root them out! “Life is available only in the present moment.” Thich Nhat Hanh Come and read my blog! Become a watcher! veryfunnycple64 
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It is a bit stark, but is a good read, thank you
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hmm, a good analogy. I will take it one further: The Terrorist are wolf in sheep's clothing....they are hidden amongst us, but the NSA , Homeland Security, and the FBI are sheep dogs who root them out!
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much like the sermon in "American Sniper". my respect for law enforcement& military personnel is strong. there are incidents of overreach and abuse of authority;nothing is 100% pure
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An excellent read Pal.. Moral of the story is they are hiding in with us. You just don't know do you! hugsssssssssss V Become a blog watcher sweet_vm
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much like the sermon in "American Sniper". my respect for law enforcement& military personnel is strong. there are incidents of overreach and abuse of authority;nothing is 100% pure Become a blog watcher sweet_vm
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Thanks for the interesting read. 
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You never know do you Pal hugsssss V Become a blog watcher sweet_vm
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Well honestly, there are these types of people every where and we all have to make judgements that are in the best interest of the people we love. And I think having police officers at school does help detour some of the violence at schools we can't stop all the violence but we can surely try to hinder it..Have a great weekend Pal.. Seduce the mind and see what a wonderful adventure the body will take you on.. 
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much like the sermon in "American Sniper". my respect for law enforcement& military personnel is strong. there are incidents of overreach and abuse of authority;nothing is 100% pure
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An excellent read Pal.. Moral of the story is they are hiding in with us. You just don't know do you! hugsssssssssss V
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Thanks for the interesting read.
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You never know do you Pal hugsssss V
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Well honestly, there are these types of people every where and we all have to make judgements that are in the best interest of the people we love. And I think having police officers at school does help detour some of the violence at schools we can't stop all the violence but we can surely try to hinder it..Have a great weekend Pal..
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Seems you had an excellent post for today hugs V Become a blog watcher sweet_vm
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A great post.I enjoyed reading this.
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Seems you had an excellent post for today hugs V 
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Hi, Pal. On my blog, I swore off posting socio/politico/economic stuff, but I'll address this post here. And no offense intended, pard. Being a hardcore American, owning a lot of firepower, a part of the Jeffersonian Rightful Liberty Movement, the 3% according to definitions by Vanderboegh, Kerodin, and Pete at WRSA, and having been in my share of firefights with goblins of all sorts? I'm a very observant and objective guy, only accepting proven facts, so I definitely know what I'm talking about. I have lots of solid connections, and write about these things in other places. Go to Western Rifle Shooters for an intro to the deeper levels of insanity that comprise our global society. Oh, I do not listen to Alex Jones, Glenn Beck, or anyone like them.  Yeah, I read Grossman's piece when it was first published years ago. Even back then, I pitied the guy. He has his heart in the right place, but he has severely misplaced his trust in the very people who are determined to subjugate or destroy us. He drank the Kool-Aid and never looked back. The Lee Greenwood Syndrome. Hah. This country is a Marxist/Fascist police state, and hasn't been "free" for over 100 years. There is NOTHING about these "TERR-ISTS!" that should concern us, it's all Gov't and media psyops! I oughta know, I've helped create Psyops, and I can see one immediately. The short and not so sweet REALITY is that the Gov't and the pigs are our ENEMY. Not a buncha ragheads running around with Kalashnikovs. And don't think the Dead Elephant Party will save us, we have been living in a one-party system for quite a while now. It's all window dressing. Do you truly think that the NSA, et al. are going to stop gathering intel on all of us? Just because some ruling told them they have to stop? That's naive. Why doesn't their massive structure of spycraft ever result in stopping the occasional loonie out there? Maybe that is not the purpose and focus of it. A surveilled and overregulated society is simple to control, and it's all about money, power, and control. Tip of the iceberg, my friend.  And the filthy, lying, theiving, murdering, COWARDLY PIGS? (Spits!) Every one of them is evil to one degree or another. EVERY one. The Waco pigs, along with some Feds, just murdered a bunch of bikers there. Yeah, they were the "outlaw" type, but as more comes to be known about it, it's becoming certain that it was simply a mass assassination, with the badged scum shooting up everything in sight. But that's typical, they can't shoot.  Consider this, a quote by Dr. Robert Higgs: "The whole Good Cop / Bad Cop question can be disposed of much more decisively. We need not enumerate what proportion of cops appears to be good or listen to someone's anecdote about his uncle Charlie, an allegedly good cop. We need only consider the following: (1) A cop's job is to enforce the laws, all of them; (2) Many of the laws are manifestly unjust, and some are even cruel and wicked; (3) Therefore every cop has to agree to act as an enforcer for laws that are manifestly unjust or even cruel and wicked. There are no good cops." Defeat that impeccable logic, sir, if you dare.  OK, I'm sorry, but people need to WAKE THE FUCK UP! I'm also a helluva perceptive economist, and we are headed for a shitstorm. Get ready, Orwell's 1984 is becoming an instruction manual on how to deal with us when the entire house of cards collapses. Unless we fight. For the Nervous Nellies who will say I can't stop a tank, attack chopper, or fighter with whatever I own? Here's news for you, it's called 4th Generation Warfare. I can stop any of those with a .22 LR pistol and a suppressor.  Don't anyone bother telling the Feds about me, they already know. Really! Oh yeah, read my sig quotes. Now I'll go back to being the flirty, funny, happy guy I pretend to be. Take care, man. Si Vis Pacem Para Bellum Audentes Fortuna Iuvat Politicians. Lampposts. Assembly Required.
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No problem, my friend. I think you're a great guy, personally. I'm on board with most of our .mil people, but the cops like those we grew up with and those that are our friends, who retired a while back? They don't exist within the departments anymore and are completely disgusted with the new breed and their antics. And I mean they are truly angry about events of the last 10 years or more. Well, you might make a case for "good" guys who are in a small, rural dep't. But if they enforce stupid laws, they are as guilty as the ones here in Albq that shot the guy for camping in the foothills. Take care, and thank you for allowing me to post on your blog. Come by mine anytime. As I said, I'm usually a very nice guy. Si Vis Pacem Para Bellum Audentes Fortuna Iuvat Politicians. Lampposts. Assembly Required.
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No problem, my friend. I think you're a great guy, personally. I'm on board with most of our .mil people, but the cops like those we grew up with and those that are our friends, who retired a while back? They don't exist within the departments anymore and are completely disgusted with the new breed and their antics. And I mean they are truly angry about events of the last 10 years or more. Well, you might make a case for "good" guys who are in a small, rural dep't. But if they enforce stupid laws, they are as guilty as the ones here in Albq that shot the guy for camping in the foothills. Take care, and thank you for allowing me to post on your blog. Come by mine anytime. As I said, I'm usually a very nice guy. - From a fellow warrior who runs TOWARD the gunfire. Si Vis Pacem Para Bellum Audentes Fortuna Iuvat Politicians. Lampposts. Assembly Required.
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