Sheepdogs

26 March, 2010

Honor never grows old, and honor rejoices the heart of age. It does so because honor is, finally, about defending those noble and worthy things that deserve defending, even if it comes at a high cost. In our time, that may mean social disapproval, public scorn, hardship, persecution, or as always, even death itself. The question remains: What is worth defending? What is worth dying for? What is worth living for? - William J. Bennett - in a lecture to the United States Naval Academy November 24, 1997

A retired Army Colonel (a Vietnam veteran) recently wrote an article titled “Of Sheep, Wolves, and Sheepdogs” which I found quite interesting. Essentially he compared our society to a flock of sheep, wherein the people are the sheep, those who threaten our society are the wolves, and our defenders (soldiers, police, and such) are the sheepdogs. He said: "Most of the people in our society are sheep. They are kind, gentle, productive creatures who can only hurt one another by accident." That’s quite true in general I think. Our crime statistics indicate that the majority of Americans are not inclined to hurt one another. Some estimates claim that two million Americans (six tenths of one percent of our population), are victims of violent crimes every year, perhaps an all-time record, despite the estimated eighty million American gun owners that didn’t shoot anybody last year. But with more than 300 million people in this land, the odds of being a victim of violent crime are considerably less than the media would have us believe. Furthermore, since most violent crimes are committed by repeat offenders, we can assume that the number of violent citizens in our country is considerably less than two million. We may well be in the most violent times in history, but for the most part we’re incapable of hurting each other, except by accident, or perhaps under extreme provocation.

Those people are the sheep, and I mean nothing disrespectful by calling them sheep. There's no dishonor in being a sheep, as long as you know what you are. And just what are those sheep? Sheep are the peaceful critters that happily munch their way across the pasture, getting ever nearer the forest wherein “here there be wolves”, happily forgetting (or denying) that any danger exists in their simplistic lives, or that they might be the one singled out of the flock by the wolf. They blindly follow anyone who might be momentarily out in front of the crowd. They do not want to believe that anything might disturb their happy life, and that is what makes them sheep.

"Then there are the wolves," the old war veteran said, "and the wolves feed on the sheep 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, let down your guard, or pretend it isn’t so, you become a sheep. "Then there are sheepdogs," the old soldier continued, "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 are a wolf. But what if you have a capacity for violence, and you care for your fellow citizens, what do you have then? A sheepdog, a warrior, someone who can walk into the heart of darkness, do violence upon the wolves, and return unscathed. Now that I am retired from the ranks of the sheepdogs, and frequent the "pasture" more than the "woods”, I see this analogy to be truer than ever before.

The sheep generally do not like the sheepdog. He looks a lot like a wolf; he has fangs and the capacity for violence. The difference, though, is that the sheepdog must not and will not harm the sheep. Any sheepdog that intentionally harms so much as a single lamb will be removed and punished. Our world cannot work any other way. Still, the sheepdog disturbs the sheep. He’s a constant reminder that there are wolves in the land. 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. As Kipling said in his poem about “Tommy” the British soldier:

While it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, fall be'ind,"

But it's "Please to walk in front, sir," when there's trouble in the wind.

Also understand that a sheepdog is a funny critter: He’s 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. Well, the young sheepdog yearns for a battle. The old sheepdog is a bit wiser, but he also moves to the sound of the guns when needed, right along with the young pup.
Finally we have the shepherd, the leader, and the brains behind the whole outfit. He cares for the sheep, leads them to safety, to water and fresh pastures. He calms their fears when things go awry. He directs the sheepdog in keeping wolf away from his charges.

The old soldier’s analogy was aimed at explaining those who protect us from physical evils. But it can readily be carried further in our society, and here I’m specifically thinking about our political lives. With that, the sheep are those who blindly follow whoever promises them the greenest pasture, never considering that the pasture may be full of nettles, or that the shepherd might have an idea that mutton is on the menu. Perhaps it’s a case of what might be considered best for the flock is not particularly part of his agenda at all.

The wolves in my extension of this analogy are those, foreign or domestic, who would enslave us in one way or another, stealing our freedoms of “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness”, or perhaps just destroying our little corner of the pasture. The sheepdog is the fellow that watches the action, knowing full well that the wolf awaits somewhere. He sounds the alarm when the wolf appears, alerts the shepherd, and tries to drive the flock to safety. He’s a busy little fellow that the sheep would just as soon ignore because he disturbs their peace of mind as they happily wander towards the precipice. The shepherds are our leaders, those that we trust with our national well-being. And the sheep? 300 million American citizens who are “to busy” to be concerned with what’s happening to our nation.

And what are the sheepdogs expected to do when the shepherd does suddenly turn into a wolf? About the same thing we’ve always done I guess… Continue to sound the alarm, try to lead the flock away from danger, and prepare to protect them by whatever means possible.