[Grovenet] Sheep, Wolves & Sheepdogs

[Dale Wiley]

Sheep, Wolves, & Sheepdogs
      SHEEP, WOLVES AND SHEEPDOGS



      The letter below is a current post on our American Airlines pilots
Challenge & Response website.

      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 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 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 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 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 that permit you the freedom to express
even bad ideas.


      KURT E. ROHLOFF, Maj, TACC Flt Plans Branch, USAFR