I listen to Tom Woods’ podcast on many mornings and the other day he had James Delingpole on. James Delingpole lives in England and has podcasts about the Covid 19 impact on his country as well as other timely subjects. It’s actually quite dire over there, not because of the deaths, but because of the authoritarianism that has overtaken the country.
One story he told the other day was about the Mad Sheep. It goes like this:
A friend of his raises sheep. Sheep do everything as a herd. In every herd there is one sheep called the mad sheep. The mad sheep doesn’t do the same “sheep” things as the herd. He is an outcast and somewhat useless to the rest of the herd.
But, if something strange happens like a snow in the pasture and the herd of sheep can’t find out where to go and is confused because all the landmarks that guide them are hidden, the Mad Sheep will find a way out, an old broken wall that they can climb over to find a path.
Suddenly, the mad sheep has a purpose. He saves the herd. He is the outlier, but he is the one who did something other sheep wouldn’t and it showed them the way.
I love this story because it shows that those of us who don’t go along, who don’t “group think” are the ones who will help turn things around.
Being the mad sheep is not easy. You will be disregarded, laughed at and excluded. People will call you vile names and you may lose some friends. You may even lose economic standing and some of your rights. But, if it saves our country from this dangerous slide toward totalitarian government control, it will be worth it.
Be the mad sheep!
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