Has anyone read - An analogy of people through: SHEEP, WOLVES, AND SHEEPDOGS? I personally think it is a great story.

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</font><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style='color: black; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";'>An analogy of people through: SHEEP, WOLVES, AND
SHEEPDOGS<br>
<br>
Jill Edwards, a junior math major at the University of Washington, and a member
of the UW student senate, opposed a memorial to U graduate "Pappy" Boyington.
Boyington was a U.S. Marine aviator who earned the Medal of Honor in World War
II. Edwards said that she didn't think it was appropriate to honor a person who
killed other people. She also said that a member of the Marine Corps was NOT an
example of the sort of person the University of Washington wanted to
produce.&nbsp; What follows is Gen. Dula's letter to the University of
Washington student senate leader. Read and comprehend what is being said, and
decide if you want to be a "sheep".<br>
<br>
To: Edwards, Jill (student, U)<br>
Subject: SHEEP, WOLVES, AND SHEEPDOGS<br>
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.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>You may be too young to appreciate fully the
sacrifices of generations of<br>
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. Please take a couple of minutes to
read the following. And be grateful for the millions of American sheepdogs who
permit you the freedom to express even bad ideas.<br>
Brett Dula<br>
Sheepdog, retired<br>
<br>
ON SHEEP, WOLVES, AND SHEEPDOGS - By LTC(RET) Dave Grossman, RANGER, Ph.D.,
author of "On Killing."</span></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">

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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.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;
</span>In our time, that may mean social disapproval, public scorn, hardship, persecution,
or as always, even death itself. </span></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">

</font><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style='color: black; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";'>The question remains: </span></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">

</font><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style='color: black; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";'>What is worth defending? </span></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">

</font><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style='color: black; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";'>What is worth dying for? </span></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">

</font><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style='color: black; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";'>What is worth living for? </span></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">

</font><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style='color: black; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";'>&nbsp;</span></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">

</font><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style='color: black; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";'>- William J. Bennett - in a lecture to the
United States Naval Academy November 24, 1997</span></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">

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One Vietnam veteran, an old retired colonel, once said this to me: "Most of
the people in our society are sheep. They are kind, gentle, productive creatures
who can only hurt one another by accident."<br>
This is true. Remember, the murder rate is six per 100,000 per year, and the
aggravated assault rate is four per 1,000 per year. What this means is that the
vast majority of Americans are not inclined to hurt one another. Some estimates
say that two million Americans are victims of violent crimes every year, a
tragic, staggering number, perhaps an all-time record rate of violent crime.
But there are almost 300 million Americans, which means that the odds of being
a victim of violent crime is considerably<br>
less than one in a hundred on any given year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;
</span>Furthermore, since many violent crimes are committed by repeat
offenders, the actual number of violent citizens is considerably less than two million.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>Thus there is a paradox, and we must grasp
both ends of the situation: 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.<br>
I mean nothing negative by calling them sheep. To me, it is like the pretty,
blue robin's egg. Inside it is soft and gooey but someday it will grow into
something wonderful. But the egg cannot survive without its hard blue shell.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>Police officers, soldiers, and other warriors
are like that shell, and someday the civilization they protect will grow into
something wonderful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>For now, though,
they need warriors to protect them from the predators.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>"Then there are the wolves," the
old war veteran said, "and the wolves<br>
feed on the sheep without mercy." Do you believe there are wolves out there
who will feed on the flock without mercy? You had better believe it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>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.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;
</span>"Then there are sheepdogs," he went on, "and I'm a
sheepdog. I live to protect the flock and confront the wolf."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>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.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>But what if you have
a capacity for violence, and a deep love for your<br>
fellow citizens? What do you have then? You have a sheepdog, a warrior, someone
who is walking the hero's path, someone who can walk into the heart of
darkness, into the universal human phobia, and walk out unscathed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>Let me expand on this old soldier's excellent
model of the sheep, wolves, and sheepdogs. 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.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>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.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>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.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>The sheep generally do not like the sheepdog.
He looks a lot like the wolf.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>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.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>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.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>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.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>The students, the victims, at Columbine High
School were big, tough high school students, and under ordinary circumstances
they would not have had<br>
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.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>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? Remember how many times you heard the word hero?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>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.<br>
<br>
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.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>Here is how the sheep and the sheepdog think
differently. The sheep<br>
pretend the wolf will never come, but the sheepdog lives for that day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>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."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>When you are truly
transformed into a warrior and have truly invested yourself into warriorhood,
you want to be there. You want to be able to make a difference.<br>
<br>
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.</span></p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">

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