Early in the movie there's a schoolyard bully beating up a little boy. Into the melee flies the older brother, maybe 11 or 12, who quickly pulverizes the bully.

Then comes a tough, strong looking fathers sitting at the dinner table glaring at his boys, the younger one smarting a blackened eye, "There are three kinds of people in the world: Sheep, wolves, and sheep dogs."

He takes off his thick belt, places it on the table and says, "I'm not going to raise any sheep, and I'll beat you if you act like a wolf."



Around 2012 Brett McKay took a handgun class at Tulsa's U.S. Shooting Academy. One of his instructors attributed to retired Army Lt. Col. and author Dave Grossman this: "There are three kinds of people in the world: Sheep, wolves, and sheep dogs."

Those words gave Brett Mckay a lot of food for thought. With Americans Sniper flooding minds and eyes, it should provide more than just popcorn food for thoughtful Americans.

According to McKay's artofmanliness website, most people are sheep--kind, gentle, and peaceful. The conflicts they face rarely rise to the level of life and death, good vs. evil. The sheep generally try to do the right thing and prefer just "getting along" to engagement.

Sheep dogs have "a deep love for their fellow" sheep, or citizens. They often bravely "walk into the heart of darkness," and "seem" to often walk out unscathed.



On the other hand:

"Wolves are bad guys. They exist in the shadows outside the porous perimeter of safety that surrounds the sheep. Wolves are the sociopaths who commit violent crimes or ignore moral or ethical boundaries with impunity. They take advantage of the sheep's tendency to be inexperienced with evil, unprepared for attack, and caught flat-footed when a crisis arises. This allows these evil men to, as Grossman puts it, "feed on the [sheep] without mercy."

Americans Sniper doggedly portrays what kind of "people" Chris Kyle was. To friend and foe, he became The Legend, "thought to be the deadliest sniper in American military history with 160 confirmed 255 probable kills." He did it to protect his "brothers" from the wolves. There is no doubt that he is a hero to those families whose sons and daughters he helped protect and return home.

Next Page 1 | 2 | 3

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).