Wolves, shepherds and the state’s lost dignity

In the film *American Sniper*, based on the life of the legendary Navy SEAL Chris Kyle and starring Bradley Cooper, a reflection taken from the book *On Combat* by the American military officer Dave Grossman was popularised: society is divided into sheep, wolves and sheepdogs. It may seem like an oversimplification – and it probably is – but that is precisely where the power of certain universal ideas lies. There are those who destroy, those who observe, and those who risk their lives to protect others. This weekend, whilst spending time with members of our security forces – at a time when Spain was mourning the murder of officers at the hands of drug traffickers in Huelva – I realised that a country’s real problem begins when those who are supposed to protect the shepherds decide to abandon them.

10 May 2026 Reading time: 4 minutes 30 seconds

The film *El Francotirador* (originally titled *American Sniper*), which tells the story of the legendary SEAL Second Lieutenant Chris Kyle and stars Bradley Cooper, popularised a phrase – or, if you prefer, a cognitive theory: “Most people are sheep. Some are wolves. And a few are sheepdogs who protect the flock.”

This was not a cinematic invention, but rather a passage previously written by the American military officer Dave Grossman in his book *On Combat*. A must-read in military academies.

I like – without claiming it as my own – to tweak it slightly, and to reclassify sheepdogs as shepherds, whilst adding yet another category: the leaders amongst the shepherds. These not only protect, but also devise the protection strategy. They are the true leaders. Those who do not need to be identified as such, because they are simply recognised as such.

Any sociologist would tell me that this is an oversimplification of reality. And they would be right. But one of the characteristics of canonical theories is precisely that: simplicity. It is something that allows us to express something immense in a concise way, leaving no room for interpretation.

A society begins to fall apart when protection ceases to be a moral priority

This weekend was my motorbike club’s party. We had – and I’m using the plural because I know what I’m saying – the immense honour of sharing it with some of our security forces: the Civil Guard and the Municipal Police.

What makes a person choose a profession that is poorly paid, despised by those they fine, and so high-risk that you could die any day? And not from illness or an accident.

Despite the mediocrity of our leaders, who refuse to recognise this as a high-risk profession, applications to join the police force just keep coming in. Can anyone tell me which profession is more dangerous than one that takes you out onto the streets every day to protect us, at the risk of losing your own life?

Institutional honour is not proclaimed in speeches. It is demonstrated in difficult moments

It has fallen to me – though I do so wholeheartedly, as do all my fellow club members, of whom there were more than 300 – to offer my condolences on the loss of two colleagues, and we shall see if there are any more, at the hands of drug traffickers in Huelva. And this, to the disgrace of the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary, who have not even had the courage to attend their funerals.

No one can doubt that drug traffickers are not merely common criminals; they are active participants in the murder of drug users. But the fact is that they have now lost all fear of our security forces. They lost respect for them a long time ago. And they have attained this position of arrogance through the government’s deliberate neglect. The lack of material resources and manpower to which this government subjects them could perfectly well be classified by the courts as collusion.

You don’t need to be a genius to realise that it’s impossible to take on a fibreglass speedboat equipped with up to four high-powered outboard engines and AK-47-style assault rifles using just a rubber dinghy and handguns.

Sending our security forces out to sea under these conditions is like asking a poodle to fight a wolf.

There is no greater political disgrace than demanding sacrifices without providing the means.

My articles are usually about geopolitics or economics, but this time I haven’t just been unable to keep quiet – I simply haven’t wanted to. Police officers aren’t expected to be the shepherds’ leaders, but they are part of the flock.

As in any group of people, there’s a bit of everything: pleasant, friendly, stupid and even corrupt. But just as you don’t go to work to make friends, but to do your job, you should simply ask them to do their job properly. And in that respect, those who do so – and we can say that’s practically everyone – are doing no small task. It’s to protect us.

The same should be asked of the government. That they do their job properly, and unfortunately the opposite is the case. I’m not going to go into the many things we all know, because I’d be branded an ideologue, and that has never been my intention here. When it comes to writing, I’m an ‘agnostic’. In press interviews, I’m neither one nor the other, nor do I wish to appear as such.

Countries do not collapse overnight. They fall into decline when those who uphold the order feel they have been abandoned

Dignity can be lost for many reasons, and just like honour, it requires daily effort to ensure it is not lost. No manager likes to dismiss an employee, because during the assessment process, a million things cross your mind – such as their personal circumstances, their dedication, or whatever else. But those in positions of responsibility decide what is best for the team and carry it out, however unpleasant it may be. Failing to attend the funeral of police officers murdered by drug traffickers is, first and foremost, an act of cowardice and a display of indignity typical of someone for whom honour is not in their vocabulary. Countries do not collapse overnight. They deteriorate when those who uphold the order feel they have been abandoned.

Failing to recognise their rights – or worse still, failing to provide them with sufficient resources and staff – is an insult, not only to them, but to everyone, because they are the ones who protect us.

Two events have come to a head for me in the space of a single weekend. One was living alongside them and watching with outrage as two of them were murdered elsewhere, whilst the government did nothing. And I’m sorry, but it wasn’t me. But when woodworm gets into the wood, it rots. And if the carpenter isn’t prepared to replace it, the cupboard is bound to come crashing down. The worst thing is that the carpenter doesn’t seem to care.