>A very
>good analogy.
>
> 
>
>"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
>
>
> 
>
>
>Miss Edwards, I read of your "student activity" regarding the proposed
>memorial to Col. Greg Boyington, USMC and a Medal of Honor winner.
>
>
>
>
>
>I suspect you will receive a bellyful of angry e-mails from
>conservative folks 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
>naiveté. 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 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 that 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, which 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, cannot and will not ever harm
>the sheep. Any sheep dog that 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's ok 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.
>
>
> 
>
>
>When was the last time the world heard your bark?.
>--
>
>
>"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch.
>Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote!" - Benjamin Franklin
>
>