Of sheep, shepherds and wolves.

 Sheep, Shepherds and Wolves.

As the years seem to be accelerating towards the finish line that is my sixtieth birthday (where does the time go?) and perhaps the most important General Election since Margaret Thatcher beat James Callaghan in 1979, I thought it an opportune moment to share my thoughts on a subject I have often discussed with my son, John, ever since he was old enough to understand a metaphor.

Sheep.

This is by far the largest group, making up well over 95% of the general population. It doesn’t matter what ethnic group, religious persuasion, social or educational grouping people are, the vast majority will fit into this category.

What are the characteristics of this group? Like their animal namesake, they spend the majority of their non sleeping hours going about the tasks directed to them by the shepherd eg being fattened up for slaughter, moving from field to field as a herd, or lining up to be fleeced.

Unless you physically attack them they will do nothing other then bleat constantly to each other, follow the herd and chew contentedly in the middle of the road looking straight at the car that is bearing down on them, seemingly without a care in the world. Even if they are hurt by the shepherd, for example when the males are castrated to keep them docile and less aggressive, they struggle and cry for a few moments but then quickly go back to chewing once the shepherd distracts them with a nice patch of grass or feed.

Encouraged to breed, simply to increase the shepherd’s wealth, their children can be taken away from them by the shepherd at a whim and sent to live with another flock.

Although they have the illusion of freedom, in reality they are carefully watched and controlled, until such time as they are needed.

Once their usefulness to the shepherd is over they are corralled and led kicking and bleating to the slaughter where, at the end of their short, aimless lives they are killed and their corpses picked over. It is only at the few moments before the knife (in the case of Halal slaughter), electricity or bolt is applied that they finally twig something is up but by then it is far too late to do anything about it.  Once dead they are instantly forgotten

Shepherds.

Few in numbers, they own and keep constant watch over the sheep. Their farms are often handed down through the family or control is purchased with the judicious use of money.

Through the clever use of media they have been portraying themselves for thousands of years as kind and benevolent, going out in all weather to save the least of their flock.

Judicious use of technology now allows them to keep careful watch on the herd from afar, zooming in on individual sheep if they become restless or don’t follow the herd.

Always on the lookout for mavericks, they selectively breed out from their flock the traits they deem useless, quickly culling those that are surplus to requirements or cause trouble.

They only spend on the sheep just enough money to keep them fed and watered, keeping the majority for themselves to be spent in a manner of their choosing.

If ever a sheep manages to escape the confines of the pasture and make its way into the shepherd’s garden, they are rounded up and quickly led back to the flock. The shepherd learns from this escape and improves the field’s security. It’s done incrementally until one day the sheep wake up to find themselves completely hemmed in.

Every once in a while you get a genuinely good shepherd who cares well for his flock and reinvests all of the profits back into their welfare and security. Unfortunately, they all to often go broke and have to sell up as they have not paid enough attention to keeping solvent and the wealthier, cannier shepherds buy up their flock, leaving them to look back on past glories and empty fields.

Wolves.

They truly run free, with no responsibility to anything other then themselves, family or pack. No-one controls or owns them.

Adept at hiding in plain sight and keeping very still for extended periods before pouncing, these apex predators are instinctively cunning.

They watch carefully and will single out weak individuals and when the time if right make themselves known, scattering the flock so that they can zoom in on the weak, sick, old or defenceless that the panicked flock has left to fend for themselves.

Whilst ruthless, they take no pleasure in the kill, only the satisfaction of a full belly for them and their family.

They do however perform a key role in evolutionary terms by weeding out the less able in the flock. With each death the average intelligence of the flock increases slightly as the survivors (hopefully) learn how to better defend themselves.

Whilst shepherds pretend to despise the wolves and try and convince the sheep that they are protecting them, the reality is that the sheep dogs they use to control the flock use exactly the same tactics as the wolves and are just a generation or so removed from wolves themselves. Isn’t it ironic that if it wasn’t for the wolves the sheep would have no fear of the sheep dogs?

One of the key things everyone needs to know and have a real understanding of is whether they are a sheep, shepherd or wolf.

Now ask yourself, what are you now and what would you rather be?