[GRB]

I don't think most Americans understand the role of the Sheep dog. Even more unfortunate, many also refuse to acknowledge that their are wolves in our world. I'm guessing more than 50% of our current crop of so-called Americans are sheep.



- 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
>>> who
>>> are not capable of hurting each other, except by accident or under
>>> extreme
>>> provocation. They are sheep.
>>>
>>> Then there are the wolves 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 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 unchartered 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 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?
>>> 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 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 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.
>>>
>>> "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.
>>>
>>> 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.
>>> It is okay to be a sheep, but do not kick the sheep dog. Indeed, the
>>> sheep
>>> dog 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 thousands - -millions - - of American sheepdogs
>>> who
>>> permit you the freedom to express even bad ideas.

Edited to add - I don't believe I've ever seen a better explanation of our
>>> military/first
>>> responders. Please read & pass it on. Especially, share it with the
>>> sheepdogs, with our profound thanks.
>>>
>>> "This letter was written by Charles Grennel and his comrades who are
>>> 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, January of 2005. It was written to Jill Edwards, a student at
>>> the
>>> University of Washington who did not want to honor Medal of Honor winner
>>> USMC Colonel Greg Boyington. Ms. Edwards and other students (and
>>> faculty)
>>> do
>>> not think those who serve in the U.S. armed services are good role
>>> models.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> To: Edwards, Jill (student, UW)
>>>
>>> Subject: Sheep, Wolves and Sheepdogs
>>>
>>>

>>>