A Word About Living With Order and Honor

I'm a young guy in historic terms, less than 50 years, so opinions may vary. My father used to love to instruct me in the pre-WWII way of life. He did a good job of that. Mostly to stroke his own ego about how much critical information he had learned in life. One has to know the rules to break them. Documentaries and authors of history filled in the gaps. The strange part about my father is that he has violated almost every line of the code of honor and conduct about which he so eloquently presented. I was saved by a strong natural intuition that helped me filter the bull from the manure. Working with cattle, odd as it may seem, has also offered valid instruction about the role of parents, community and the difference between fake and true devotion.

I have witnessed, on more than one occasion, cows butting each other around as they do with a young calf within inches. That calf does not move, does not show fear and does not question whether it will be hurt. It won't be. In addition, the baby calf hardly even acknowledges the activity. I could never figure out how the animals knew where the calf was all of the time, but they did. There's a code in there somewhere. If only human parents were so careful and reliable.

Another of many other observations involved the bull. Any human male would be more than happy to have that job and the raw power of a bull. But, that animal also has a code many humans violate. The ultimate objective of the bull is not his own pleasure or ego but the protection of the herd, especially the young. I've also seen that bull bring an entire herd over to where he was with very little effort. Look out for the bull and he does his job. Upset the bull and he gives a warning look that one remembers for a lifetime. Now, there are bulls who smash into other fields, but they don't maintain a position of honor. Those bulls get sold and butchered if they are too much trouble.

What I've tried to present here is the mess humans seem to make out of basic tasks that animals master quite easily. The first is to protect, instruct and nurture the young, and the second is that everyone obeys the same code. The third rule of cattle life is that there is only one boss of the herd and he does not abuse that privilege. Anyone who wants the job has to deserve it first.

It's not that so many humans don't know the rules, but that they just refuse to obey those rules. This is our current problem in the US. The primary reason that America has squandered so much past credibility is that the rogue "bulls" of American society have been allows to control the government and the citizen "herd". When will those Americans ever be separated from the herd and order restored?