The Parable of the Sheep

The Parable of the Sheep
By Charles Riggs, (C) 1997


Not so long ago and in a pasture too uncomfortably close to here, a flock of sheep lived and grazed. They were protected by a dog, who answered to the master, but despite his best efforts from time to time a nearby pack of wolves would prey upon the flock. One day a group of sheep, more bold than the rest, met to discuss their dilemma. “Our dog is good, and vigilant, but he is one dog and the wolves are many. The wolves he catches are not always killed, and the master judges and releases many to prey again upon us, for no reason we can understand. What can we do? We are sheep, but we do not wish to be food, too!”

One sheep spoke up, saying “It is his teeth and claws that make the wolf so terrible to us. It is his nature to prey, and he would find any way to do it, but it is the tools he wields that make it possible. If we had such teeth, we could fight back, and stop this savagery.” The other sheep clamored in agreement, and they went together to the old bones of the dead wolves heaped in the corner of the pasture, and gathered fang and claw and made them into weapons. That night, when the wolves came, the newly armed sheep sprang up with their weapons and struck at them and cried “Begone! We are not food!” and drove off the wolves, who were astonished. When did sheep become so bold and so dangerous to wolves? When did sheep grow teeth? It was unthinkable!

The next day, flush with victory and waving their weapons, they approached the flock to pronounce their discovery. But as they drew nigh, the flock huddled together and cried out “Baaaaaaaadddd! Baaaaaddd things! You have bad things! We are afraid! You are not sheep!”

The brave sheep stopped, amazed. “But we are your brethren!” they cried, “We are still sheep, but we do not wish to be food. See, our new teeth and claws protect us and have saved us from slaughter. They do not make us into wolves, they make us equal to the wolves, and safe from their viciousness!”

"Baaaaaaaddd!”, cried the flock,”the things are bad and will pervert you, and we fear them. You cannot bring them into the flock. They scare us!”. So the armed sheep resolved to conceal their weapons, for although they had no desire to panic the flock, they wished to remain in the fold. But they would not return to those nights of terror, waiting for the wolves to come.

In time, the wolves attacked less often and sought easier prey, for they had no stomach for fighting sheep who possessed tooth and claw even as they did. Not knowing which sheep had fangs and which did not, they came to leave sheep out of their diet almost completely except for the occasional raid, from which more than one wolf did not return. Then came the day when, as the flock grazed beside the stream, one sheep’s weapon slipped from the folds of her fleece, and the flock cried out in terror again, “Baaaaaaddddd! You still possess these evil things! We must ban you from our presence!”.

And so they did. The great chief sheep and his court and council, encouraged by the words of their moneylenders and advisors, placed signs and totems at the edges of the pasture forbidding the presence of hidden weapons there. The armed sheep protested before the council, saying “It is our pasture, too, and we have never harmed you! When can you say we have caused you hurt? It is the wolves, not we, who prey upon you. We are still sheep, but we are not food!”. But the flock would not hear, and drowned them out with cries of “Baaaaaaddd! We will not hear your clever words! You and your things are evil and will harm us!”.

Saddened by this rejection, the armed sheep moved off and spent their days on the edges of the flock, trying from time to time to speak with their brethren to convince them of the wisdom of having such teeth, but meeting with little success. They found it hard to talk to those who, upon hearing their words, would roll back their eyes and flee, crying “Baaaaddd! Bad things!”.

That night, the wolves happened upon the sheep’s totems and signs, and said, “Truly, these sheep are fools! They have told us they have no teeth! Brothers, let us feed!”. And they set upon the flock, and horrible was the carnage in the midst of the fold. The dog fought like a demon, and often seemed to be in two places at once, but even he could not halt the slaughter. It was only when the other sheep arrived with their weapons that the wolves fled, vowing to each other to remain on the edge of the pasture and wait for the next time they could prey, for if the sheep were so foolish once, they would be so again. This they did, and do still.

In the morning, the armed sheep spoke to the flock, and said, “See? If the wolves know you have no teeth, they will fall upon you. Why be prey? To be a sheep does not mean to be food for wolves!”. But the flock cried out, more feebly for their voices were fewer, though with no less terror, “Baaaaaaaadddd! These things are bad! If they were banished, the wolves would not harm us! Baaaaaaaddd!”. The other sheep could only hang their heads and sigh. The flock had forgotten that even they possessed teeth; how else could they graze the grasses of the pasture? It was only those who preyed, like the wolves and jackals, who turned their teeth to evil ends. If you pulled their own fangs those beasts would take another’s teeth and claws, perhaps even the broad flat teeth of sheep, and turn them to evil purposes.

The bold sheep knew that the fangs and claws they possessed had not changed them. They still grazed like other sheep, and raised their lambs in the spring, and greeted their friend the dog as he walked among them. But they could not quell the terror of the flock, which rose in them like some ancient dark smoky spirit and could not be damped by reason, nor dispelled by the light of day.

So they resolved to retain their weapons, but to conceal them from the flock; to endure their fear and loathing, and even to protect their brethren if the need arose, until the day the flock learned to understand that as long as there were wolves in the night, sheep would need teeth to repel them.

They would still be sheep, but they would not be food!

By Charles Riggs, (C) 1997

NWO Soldier 2014

It's approximately 0300hrs, you are riding in an ICV (Infantry Carrying Vehicle), on your way to a night raid. It wouldn't be so warm if not for the fact that you are wearing full combat gear and your squad is packed like sardines in the vehicle.

These raids have been happening so often that most of the squad is comfortable taking a power nap enroute. Just as you start to contemplate closing your eyes... A voice comes over the vehicle's intercom: "Target right. One minute!"
The squad gets ready, gloves, ear plugs, lock and load... One split second hopeful thought that nobody in your squad gets shot and you dismount the vehicle. The squad makes their way to the target quietly and stacks outside the front door. With ear plugs in you can hear your breathing and heartbeat loudly.

The lieutenant pounds on the door and demands the residents to open the door. Five seconds later, there's no reply, the B&E (Break Entry) man swings the battering ram and the door flys open.

The squad moves in quickly to clear every room in the house. You are the second to last in the stack. While others are clearing rooms you start to round up the family inside towards the living room. There's a mother, two kids, and the father. The frightened kids ask the parents questions and the mother touches their lips, with trembling hands, as if their talking would make the scary situation worse.

A small crying child comes out of a room behind you, as you reach for him, the father jumps between you and his kid. Your buddy, has your back, he quickly butt strokes the father on the head. The man goes down. You move the small child towards the, now frantic, mother. The mother shouts "Don't hurt him he's a good man!" Now, all the kids are crying. Behind you, two squad members are restraining and blindfolding the man on the ground. You think to yourself 'What an idiot. Doesn't he realize we're on a mission here?' From the hallway the sergeant shouts "GET IT UNDER CONTROL IN THERE!!" You raise your weapon, in a show of force, and gesture the family to sit on a couch.

-Earlier that day- Towards the end of a cordon and knock operation, your squad was allowed entry into a home. However, the man of the house protested the idea of his house being searched, he stated "You have no right. We don't want you foreign troops here." To his statement your lieutenant replied "We wouldn't be here if your country could just police itself." As you were gestured out of the home, you noticed some medals on the wall. It was the home of a veteran. Upon exiting the home you heard the lieutenant call in GPS coordinates to command. Your buddy smirked and said "You hear that? Coming back tonight!"

Two minutes after the raid began the house was clear. The crying mother is asked if there are any weapons in the home. She can not get a single word out. The squad tosses the house in search of weapons and intel. Moments later, the newest squad member comes to the living room with a grin on his face "Check it out. I found one!"
A mossberg 500 (Tactical Shotgun) and four boxes of ammo.

The home owner is dragged out to the back yard, where after further questioning, it is determined he will go back to the detention center at your camp. The squad exits the home and the detainee is dropped face down in the center isle of the ICV. A squad member asks the man "Comfortable down there, though guy?"
You say to yourself- This is the stuff civilians pay money to watch in theaters. It's also one of the minor things you'll attempt to forget in a bottle of vodka years later.

The account above is a fictional composite of what a U.N. soldier may experience while deployed in the USA for Peace Keeping operations. It is based on my own operational experience conducting raids in Iraq. Although, I added a slight dramatic flare by considering the lack of regulations placed on some multinational forces, as I, witnessed first hand working with NATO troops in Kosovo. It is up to the reader to relate to the American family mentioned in the account. A family which may have seen the signs leading to this fictional event; Yet, did not take the time to get peacefully involved when they had a chance.
Whether we are on the brink of an economic collapse, or martial law being declared due to a false flag event-Americans will, at some point have to abandon their normalcy bias mentality, if we are to preserve liberty.The warning signs are before us. If you are looking for the right time to speak out and get involved... I quote Thomas Paine "The time hath found us."