A modern parable about protection, violence and the hero path
Original Author: Lieutenant Colonel Dave Grossman, U.S. Army (Retired)
Qualifications: Ranger, Ph.D., author of “On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society”
A Vietnam veteran, an old reserve colonel, once told me:
The Three Natures
The Sheep
“Most people in our society are sheep. They are productive, gentle, kind creatures who only hurt one another by accident.”
The sheep live in denial of reality. They do not want to accept the fact that there is evil in this world. They may accept that fires happen — and so they want fire extinguishers, sprinklers, alarms and fire exits in every corner of their children’s schools.
But many of them are outraged at the idea of placing an armed police officer in their children’s school. Our children are thousands of times more susceptible to being killed or seriously injured by school violence than by fire, but the only response of the sheep to the possibility of violence is denial.
The idea that someone might come to kill or harm their children is too hard, so they choose the path of denial.
The Wolves
“And 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 had better believe it. There are evil men in this world who are capable of evil things.”
The moment you forget that, or pretend it is not true, you become a sheep. There is no safety in denial.
The Sheepdogs
“And then there are the sheepdogs and I am a sheepdog. I live to protect the flock and confront the wolf.”
If you have no capacity for violence, then you are a healthy and productive citizen, a sheep.
If you have capacity for violence and no empathy for your fellow citizens, then you are an aggressive sociopath, a wolf.
But what if you have capacity for violence and a deep love for your fellow countrymen? What do you have then?
A sheepdog, a warrior, someone who walks the hero path. Someone who can walk into the heart of darkness, into the universal human phobia, and come out again.
The Relationship Between Sheep and Dogs
The sheep generally do not like the sheepdogs. He looks too much like the wolf. He has sharp teeth and the capacity for violence.
The difference, however, is that the sheepdog must not, cannot, and will never harm the little sheep. Any sheepdog who intentionally harms the 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 bothers the sheep. He is a constant reminder that there are wolves out there.
The sheep would rather he did not tell them where to go, did not give them tickets and did not stand around in airports, in camouflage, holding an M-16.
