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Wolves Circling the Fire: Of Beasts and Tyrants
(Note: This is a thoughtful view of predators that should be read and considered for all its merits, which are many.)
November 26, 2001
By Gary Marbut mssa@mssa.org President, Montana Shooting Sports Association There was a time in
Man's evolution when he huddled around the nighttime fire, gazing
outward at the glowing ring of eyes -- the predators who viewed man only
as food. A few of these predators came in and joined Man at the fire and
became dogs. Others remained outside and have always been wolves. These early Men learned
to build structures, not only to keep out the rain and the cold, but
also to protect Man and his weaker family members from the
ever-present wolf, who circled warily and constantly, always ready to
snatch as a meal any unwary member of Man's family. In fact, one might
reasonably view Man's entire development and creation of civilization as
a process of fortifying against wolves, the chief among Man's predators.
So, the process of civilization has been a contest against
wolves, with savagery and risk being at one end of the scale, and a
complicated system and evolution of security being at the other. There are people
nowadays who believe we need more wolves. There are people who have
understandable trouble grasping and accepting the great complexity that
modern Man's society has become, who openly or secretly yearn for more
primitive and simpler times, with lines more clearly drawn, and the
customs, associations and processes less complex. These people thrill
with a comprehension of that which is wild and primitive in a way Jack
London would certainly understand. However, there is a reason for the colloquialism, to "keep the wolf from the door." Because of its insatiable predation and unending hostility to Man, the reputation of the wolf properly echoes through the corridors
of time as the enemy of Man, and perhaps the greatest single impetus for
Man's journey along the path of civilization. The contemporary
struggle between those who wish more wolves to share space with Man -- and
those who still seek to protect themselves and their families from
wolves -- may be viewed as a struggle between the progress and
regress of civilization itself. The equation becomes
more interesting when one notices that the leading supporters for the
pro-wolf, civilization-regression often live most closely in the heart
of civilization, in the steel and glass constructs of Man's major hives.
These may be the people most harried by the press and complexity of
modern society. For them, the advocacy is strictly an intellectual
exercise, a remote game they might play as in a game arcade at the
shopping mall. These same supporters
would never send their children to play in the forests and
hills where real, live, hungry, flesh-eating wolves actually roam. They
have not lost all personal survival instinct. Yet it is a tribute to
the complexity of our society that these same, well-fortified city
dwellers -- living in circumstances designed to "keep the wolf
from the door" -- can compel others of us living in the
forests and hills to live with those ancient enemies of Man constantly
in our midst. City dwellers make warm and fuzzy movies about
wolves, give the wolves names agreeable to children, promote wolves
as friendly (almost) stuffed animals to schoolchildren -- but return
each night to the civilized security of their glass and steel caves,
where their flocks and their children remain protected against Man's
ancient adversary. In their understandable yearning for simpler times,
they are selfishly willing to expose others of their kind to risks and
predation, which they do not and will not suffer themselves. Whatever the motives of
predator-advocates, the effect is undeniable. Not only the flocks of Man
suffer, but also the billions of dollars sportsmen have invested in
restoring and enhancing populations of deer, antelope, elk, sheep, moose
and goats is disappearing at a disastrous rate, along with the ungulate
wildlife. Predation occurs at an alarming and increasing rate, if not
upon the flesh of Man, than upon his wallet, his estate, and his
ability to survive economically. Under these circumstances, one might ask, "Who are the predators?" Are the predator advocates not preying on the others who will suffer the consequences? I believe predator advocate leaders fully understand their own predator status, and are convinced they have the power and right to compel the conduct of the prey -- the others of their kind who will suffer from their schemes.
When predator justifiers identify
the animals for which they advocate as elite and powerful, they also see
themselves as elite and powerful an identity transference of sorts. The
obvious question is: When will those who they view as prey -- upon
whom they would vent their predatory savagery -- wake up and understand
the nature of this predation? To bring the discussion full circle, those who believe we need more wolves may be correct, albeit for the wrong reasons. Perhaps we have been too long without predators, and we have grown soft and lax. Maybe we need predators and tyrants nibbling the flanks of our flocks and families to challenge us to rebuild the fortifications, sharpen our marksmanship and be prepared.
But the predators
against whom we must ready ourselves are those among our own kind
who are comfortable seeing us as prey -- those who would threaten
the survival of our freedoms for their own whims. These predators are
the would-be tyrants who would prey upon our liberties to serve their
own agendas. Maybe wolves are a blessing, a wake-up call. If we do not rouse from our slumbers near the dying fire by howling in the darkness, we may deserve to become food for tyrants. To sleep by the fire is to invite being dragged into the darkness and devoured. The Montana Shooting
Sports Association is the primary organization asserting the rights and
prerogatives of gun owners and hunters in Montana. Gary Marbut, MSSA
president, grew up on a 5,000-acre cattle ranch in Western Montana, is an officer of the Western Montana Fish and Game Association, Montana's oldest and largest regional organization of hunters and anglers, and is a lifetime hunter, in the last decade hunting elk with a revolver. Marbut is author of the acclaimed book, Gun Laws of Montana (2003) Order your copy today: http://www.mtpublish.com (quantity discounts available) |