Opus 2020-011: It Takes All Kinds

Animals carry the burden of anthropomorphic personality traits being associated with them.  The illustrations are everywhere.  Foxes are clever.  Cats are independent.  Worms are slimy.  Democrats are..., well, maybe I should not go there.

My tangent started with the idea of sheep and goats.  We talk about them being separated.  This is a Biblical idea coming from the final judgement day when God separates those going to heaven from those going to hell.

(Mat 25:33 KJV) And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

Among the Jewish rabbis the right was good and the left was bad, really bad.  So sheep are associated with those who have lived righteous lives and the goats are the rebellions ones headed for hell.  I don’t care how cute you think baby goats are.  In this usage they symbolize everything nasty. 

Then we have the modern survivalists who want to talk about sheep and wolves.  In this division the character of sheep is that they are stupid, timid and weak.  That matches the Biblical picture.  This is the general population, the ones who go to an all night 7/11 in the wrong part of town wearing only a bathrobe and some slippers.  They then will lock their keys in the car.  They are considered prey of the wolves. 

Wolves are predators looking for their next meal.  The idea is that there are wolves out there living off the sheep.  This can be as illegal as muggers and rapists.  It can be as everyday as credit card companies that know you won’t read the small print.  They live off the sheep.

Survivalists then talk about sheep dogs.  These are the strong ones that take on the responsibility of protecting the sheep.  They are creatures of force like the wolves but see their role as protecting the weak.  In the dramas this would be the cop that risks his life to stop a mob hit.  In our neighborhood it might be someone who speaks up when someone is being taken advantage of.  Generally they are good guys.  They are kind of like guardian angels.

This made me wonder if there is anything such as a goat dog.  This would be someone who looks out for the deviants in society.  They get corrupt politicians off the hook.  They get convicted murderers out of jail on technicalities.  They do everything they can to derail Christian culture and cull out the remnants of Biblical values.  Maybe they would be guardian demons. 

What are you?

homo unius libri