Watchman
03-29-2003, 10:43 AM
Taken from another board and too good to not pass on...
my apologys to the timid "sheeple" out younder... :D
The classic Pro-gun parable
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, bolder than the rest, met to discuss
their dilemma. "Our dog is good, and vigilant, but he is one 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, crying, "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!"
"Baaaaaaad!" cried the flock, "the things are bad and will pervert
you, and we fear them. You cannot bring them into the flock!" 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
my apologys to the timid "sheeple" out younder... :D
The classic Pro-gun parable
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, bolder than the rest, met to discuss
their dilemma. "Our dog is good, and vigilant, but he is one 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, crying, "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!"
"Baaaaaaad!" cried the flock, "the things are bad and will pervert
you, and we fear them. You cannot bring them into the flock!" 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