Martyn4802
New member
Subject: Sheep, sheep dogs, and wolves
This letter was written by Charles Grennel and his comrades, veterans of the global war on terror. Grennel is an Army Reservist who spent two years in Iraq and was a principal in putting together the first Iraq elections in January 2005.
They wrote it to Jill Edwards, student at the University of Washington, who did not want to honor Medal of Honor winner USMC Colonel Greg Boyington. Ms. Edwards, other students and faculty do not think those who serve in the U.S. armed services are good role models.
To: Jill Edwards, Student, University of Washington
Subject: Sheep, Wolves and Sheepdogs
Miss Edwards,
I read of your student activity regarding the proposed memorial to
Colonel Greg Boyington, USMC, and a Medal of
Honor winner. I suspect you will receive many angry emails from
conservative people like me. You may be too
young to appreciate fully the sacrifices of generations of servicemen and
servicewomen on whose shoulders you and
your fellow students stand. I forgive you for the untutored ways of youth
and your naivet?. It may be that you are
simply a sheep. There's no dishonor in being a sheep, as long as you know
and accept what you are.
William J. Bennett, in a lecture to the United States Naval Academy
November 24, 1997 said "Most of the people
in our society are sheep. They are kind, gentle, productive creatures who
can only hurt one another by accident. 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, not capable of hurting each other except by
accident or under extreme provocation. They
are sheep."
Then there are the wolves who 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 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 uncharted path. Someone who can walk into the
heart of darkness, into the universal
human phobia, and walk out unscathed.
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 kid's 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.
So they choose 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, cannot
and will not ever harm the sheep. Any
sheepdog 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 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? 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." 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 would destroy 98 percent of the population.
Research was 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 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 they learned of the other three passenger
planes that had been used as weapons, Todd and the other passengers
confronted 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.
Edmund Burke said "There is no safety for honest men except by believing
all possible evil of evil men." Here is the point I want 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 don'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.
This business of being a sheep or a sheepdog 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. It's
OK to be a sheep, but do not kick the sheepdog. Indeed, the sheepdog may
just run a little harder, strive to protect
a little better and be fully prepared to pay an ultimate price in battle
and spirit with the sheep moving from "baa" to "thanks".
We do not call for gifts or freedoms beyond our lot. We just need a
small pat on the head, a smile and a thank you
to fill the emotional tank which is drained protecting the sheep. And,
when our number is called by The Almighty,
and day retreats into night, a small prayer before the heavens just may be
in order to say thanks for letting you
continue to be a sheep. And be grateful for the millions of American
sheepdogs who permit you the freedom to express even bad ideas.
