BAMBAM's blog: "luck"

I have a friend that for a while always called me sheepdog. I asked him why he always called me that and said to me "carry on sheepdog". He sent this to me as for his reason why he did so.

By LTC Dave Grossman, Army Ranger and author of "On Killing" he actually got this from a Vietnam veteran.

Most of the people in our society are sheep. they are kind, gentle, productive creatures who can only hurt one another by accident. Then there are the wolves. The wolves feed on the sheep without mercy. 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 became a sheep. There is no safety in denial.

Then there are sheepdogs. They 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, if you have a capacity for violence, and a deep regard for your fellow citizens, you are a sheepdog, a warrior, someone who is walking the hero's path. Someone who can walk into the heart of darkness and walk out.

We know the sheep live in denial, that's what makes them sheep. They do not want to believe that there is evil in the world.

The sheep generally do not like the sheepdog. He looks and acts 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 sheepdog who intentionally harms the lowliest little lamb will be punished and removed.

Still the sheepdog disturbs the sheep. he or she is a constant reminder that there are wolves ready to attack. The sheep would prefer that the sheepdog didn't tell them where to go, or give them tickets, or stand at the ready in our towns, airports, or highways.

Until the wolf shows up. Then the entire flock tries desperately to hide behind on lonely sheepdog. this how the sheep feel about their sheepdog when the wolf is at the door.

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 or she is always sniffing around out on the perimeter, checking the breeze, barking at things that go bump in the night, and most of all yarning 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 to their door, but the sheepdog lives for that day. After the attacks on September 11, most of the sheep, that is, most citizens in America said. "Thank God I wasn't on one of those planes." The sheepdog, the warriors said, "Dear God, I wish I could have been on one of those planes. Maybe I could have made a difference.

If you want to be a sheep, then you can be a sheep and that's OK, 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 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 rest. 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 and prepare yourself to thrive in that moment when the wolf comes knocking at the door.

For example, many sheepdogs carry their weapons in church and that's OK. Some sheep would be horrified if they knew you were carrying a weapon in church, they might call him or her paranoid and would probably scorn him or her. The sheep response to the wolf is denial, all too often their response the the sheepdog is scorn and disdain. It is denial that turns people into sheep. Sheep are psychologically destroyed by combat when the wolf shows up.

So the warrior must thrive to confront denial in all aspects of his and her life, and prepare themselves for the day when evil comes.

You are a warrior who is authorized to carry a weapon. If you step outside without that weapon, then you become a sheep pretending that the wolf will not come today.

LTC Dave Grossman

Carry on Sheepdog.