The tone has changed, the readership has increased (thanks, guys!), and I am looking forward to year two.

My favorite post? I thought you’d never ask…

Originally posted September 16, 2005

The Sheep, the Sheepdogs, and the Wolves

First, a big thank you to this guy for bringing this to my attention.

Second, go read this and then come back here. Warning: raw language ahead – this guy is passionate about this subject.

Finished? Good. We need to discuss something.

I don’t know what your politics are. I really don’t care, because I made a decision a long time ago to judge someone by their actions, not by their words. You get a much better reading of them that way.

I voted the way I did in the national election (it doesn’t matter which one, which year; the candidate I voted for didn’t always win) because the candidate I voted for was a sheepdog. A gray sheepdog. You can pose and posture all you want, but until you actually act on your convictions, you are nothing but a clanging symbol. Or a bleating sheep.

I served this country, and I took an oath to defend her against all enemies, foreign and domestic. I never broke that oath; I feel I am still under obligation to that oath and this country. Many people I served with are no longer with us because they took that oath to it’s extreme conclusion. When I took the oath, it was explained to us, a roomful of eager young recruits, that “foreign or domestic” meant that we were swearing to fight against even our own mothers if they were a threat to the freedoms of this country. With that in mind, the tearing away of the fabric that makes up this country, it’s history, it’s traditions, it’s very nature, should be seen as an attack by domestic enemies.

I am a Christian. I was converted to the Lord by a young man who went on to give his life in service. I am not for war, but I am not going to stand here and say that war is to be avoided at all costs. There is a reason there are no fully non-aggressive countries on today’s geo-political scene. The nature of man is to defend that which is his. God did not create man to be war-like; man became war-like when two opposing viewpoints were formed (over the nature of an offering to God, by Cain and Able). From that point on, wars were fought throughout history. No, Christianity was not always on the right side. Some wars were fought in the name of Christianity that were actually wars for one person to gain power over others. Those were wrong, and give Christians a history that is difficult, if not impossible, to reconcile. Christians are called to be good stewards of that which is bestowed upon them by God. That includes defending what is theirs, as well as helping others defend their blessings.

This is where the sheepdogs come in. I am a gray sheepdog. I am getting long in the tooth, but I will still stand up to any enemy, foreign or domestic, and say enough is enough. I will stand between the wolves and the sheep, despite how loudly the sheep will bleat that they do not need protection from the misunderstood wolf, and keep the wolf from advancing. If the wolf insists on coming closer, I will help take the fight to the wolf.

What I cannot understand is why the sheep continue to bleat even after the wolf has broken through the ranks of the sheepdogs. Yes, some sheep lost their lives, the sheep will bleat, but we have studied the way of the wolf, and it was the actions of the sheepdogs that brought the attack in the first place. Leave the wolves in peace, the sheep bleat, and they will leave us in peace.

That is not safe thinking. That is not sane thinking. You have studied that which the wolves wanted you to see. They did not allow you to study all facets of them, for that would have revealed the darker side of their existence. They have systematically denied that there was a dark side to them. The few wolves who have ingratiated themselves to the sheep by not attacking them right away, while not condemning the attacks by the rest of the wolves, are merely waiting for the day they themselves can make their attack. Then the sheep will bleat again, oh, you sheepdogs, always trying to foment hate against the wolves. You just don’t understand them.

That’s the problem. We do understand them. As long as the wolves did not attack our herd, we sheepdogs were more than happy to let them exist. They have a reason to be on the earth, just as the rest of us do. When they crossed the line and attacked our herd, bypassing the sheepdogs, then they became the enemy.

Now we have other sheep, who appear to be sheep, but who are really wolves in sheep’s clothing. They do everything in their power to discredit the sheepdogs and the Shepherd of the flock, knowing that even if a sheepdog were to raise the alarm that a wolf had slipped in amongst the sheep, the other sheep would cover the alarm with their bleating, saying that the sheepdogs are trying to discredit one of the most loved and creative sheep to ever film a documentary.

Last time I checked, providing aid to the enemy was a treasonous offense. By claiming that events that happened actually did not happen, or by misrepresenting how events transpired, these wolves in sheep’s clothing are giving more reason to the wolves to attack this herd than ever before. Do they think the wolves will let them co-exist if the wolves were able to successfully attack this herd? Do they think their misunderstood wolf friends would allow them to continue in the freedoms and lives that they enjoy today? Ask any citizen of a country where the Laws of the Wolf have been enacted just how quickly the lives and freedoms they took for granted disappeared. Also ask them how quickly their sheepdogs were rounded up and killed – er, “punished” for crimes against the (new) Shepherd. And, whatever happened to the old Shepherd, anyway?

I am tired of the Newdows and the Moores and the Garafalos of this country trying to make us out to be the enemy. If they believe that this country is doing it wrong, then they need to seek out another country where they will be allowed to do it the way they feel it should be done. Not by force, but by reason. As long as there are humans in control of the countries on this earth, reason will not win out. Reason backed by sufficient force will win. We need those who reason and those who are forceful to work together, as they have since the founding of this country, in order to continue to be a world leader. This two hundred and twenty nine year experiment called a Republic, a Representative Democracy, is the best model for it’s citizens there is. Don’t let the sheep tear it apart with their bleating. Allow the sheepdogs to do their jobs, and stand behind the Shepherd. When a new Shepherd is chosen, stand behind that one. Don’t discredit the leader; this show weakness to the wolves that they will exploit.

Now, are you a sheep? Or a sheepdog? Or are you a wolf? If you are a wolf, I will watch out for you, and you will not be allowed any closer than you are. If you are a sheep, I may not agree with what you are bleating, but I will defend to the death your right to bleat it, as long as you don’t cross the line of treason. If you are a sheepdog, I am honored to stand beside you.

My pastor and his wife think that the America I know and love doesn’t exist anymore. They think that I am holding on to an outdated ideal, and that I should realign my thinking with “how the nation is now.”

I don’t think that they have a full grasp of the situation. I can excuse that; they are young (in their late twenties) and haven’t learned all there is to learn yet. She watches CNN for the unbiased reporting of stories; he thinks “L**se Change” is a documentary.

They think that since this country is made up of immigrants, we should allow the poor, struggling immigrants to continue to come in to this country, unchecked, in order to find a better life for themselves. I believe that if this country, which was founded by legal immigrants, but which is made up mostly of native-born legal citizens now, should have better border security and tougher enforcement of existing laws.

They think that patriotic displays and acknowledgment of the sacrifices made and being made are too “over the top” and turn people off; I think that without giving tribute to those who have gone before to secure the freedoms we enjoy this country will evaporate.

I believe that this country can be great; it will take some work and a paradigm shift back to personal accountability but it can be done. Let’s start with ourselves, making sure that we are following God’s Law and the law of the land (yes, including that pesky “speed limit” law) and acting as examples for others; then we can start to help those around us to start complying with the laws and being responsible for their actions. Call on your community, state, and national leaders to be the representatives of the people, not their personal or lobbyist interest.

We can rebuild this country to what it once was – a leader of the civilized world.

God bless you all. Let’s get rebuilding!

Don’t forget to wear your Red Shirt tomorrow.

God Bless, and a big THANK YOU to all the troops out there!

This started out as a comment over on Drunken Samurai’s site, where he had a few choice words. !!Language Warning!!

Violence is the norm in times of war. Unmitigated torture and mistreatment of a prisoner is strictly outlawed by the Geneva Convention. Now that the left has tied the hands of the military (actually, just made double knots in the ties that are already in place), the American Fighting Man has that much less chance of success.

In the World Wars, there were no lines drawn along certain parallels or borders that the Allied Forces could not cross; our win/loss record there speaks for that policy. After the war, the prisoners were exchanged and the countries we invaded were rebuilt with our money. In Korea and Viet Nam, there were lines drawn on the map; in the middle east there have been lines drawn in our minds as to how far the troops are “allowed” to go. After Korea and ‘Nam, prisoners were exchanged (on our part) and the countries we invaded were rebuilt (again, using our own money). Our win/loss record for these conflicts also speaks volumes. By drawing a line, and saying “We will not cross this,” we have shown the enemy just how far we are willing to go to confront them.

Not all the way, no no, that might offend them. We will go to this point, and then we will not advance beyond this. The enemy, on the other hand, has no compunction with crossing any and all lines; whether physical or mental, they will cross that point and keep going in order to fulfill their mission, without regard to offending those they attack.

Where does that leave us?

It leaves us in the untenable position of fighting a limited war against an unlimited enemy, without the ability to fully defend ourselves. The enemy will use any and all means at their disposal to attack the American Fighting Man (and his Allies, God Bless them, everyone), including masking their motives and movements by using non-combatants as camouflage (“The US bombed a wedding!” “Never mind that they were firing SAMs from the middle of the reception line…”) and by not identifying their own troops by having them wear a distinct uniform. In more than one instance, uniforms of our Allies were used to confuse our troops, giving the enemy the edge in who gets off the first shot.

The American Fighting Man is not allowed, by Geneva Convention, to be out of uniform when in battle, to use non-combatants in combat roles, to wear any uniform other than their own, to treat prisoners inhumanely, among other tenets.

Compare that, please, against the actions of the “freedom fighters” when they held some of our troops prisoner. Compare that to the physical torture and beheading of not just our uniformed troops but also civilians who were trying to rebuild the infrastructure of the country. That’s right, boys and girls, we have already started rebuilding the country (once again, with our own money) before hostilities have even stopped!

We, as a country, were vilified because we made some prisoners wear underwear on their heads (the heads were still attached to the living bodies, in case anyone missed that). We, as a country, were demonized because prisoners were forced to form a human pyramid (a living human pyramid, in case anyone missed that part too …). We allow their journalistic sources (Al Jazeera, in case anyone missed that too …) to continue doing their “job” while they remove the heads of our journalists (Daniel Pearl, in case …).

Above all else, remember which side in this battle is following rules, and which side is not.

Some people say the US is a terrorist force. We have the finest standing army, the most technologically advanced weapons and tools, and the best-behaved forces on the face of the earth. Yes, there are some bad apples in the bunch – but compare that to the ration of good and bad apples in the forces we face! Add to that, most of the allegations against our troops are just that – allegations; whereas the enemy makes videos of and then broadcasts the atrocities they commit.

We should be fighting this war the way we know how, the way the forces on the ground have been trained to, not the way some loud (and minority) voices want them to. The time for making nice is over, the gloves have got to come off; otherwise the forces we are fighting against will never be subdued.

God bless you all, and may we be able to vanquish those who are arrayed against us, both foreign and domestic.

Bushwack over at American and Proud Of It is ramrodding a BBQ in support of Our Troops. If you live in the SoCal area, or are willing to travel a bit, hop over to AaPOI and check out the details.

I know I would love to be there, and I am willing to drive in from Phoenix to join my fellow bloggers in support of Our Troops, showing solidarity against certain naysayers with the initials of CS (part of Code Yellow Stripe Down Our Backs).

Rolling “fast”? Heck, let’s get this Rolling BBQ going!

God Bless You All!