A British Lieutenant General, Sir Frederick Stanley Maude, was given the task to conquer Baghdad in 1917. Upon arrival in Iraq, he came across a shepherd and his herd in a field. He asked his translator to offer a shilling to the shepherd and demanded that he slaughter his dog.

A dog is a very important companion to a shepherd. It warns him of all impending dangers and guards the herds from wolves and thieves. But at that time, with a shilling one could buy half a herd.

The shepherd agreed to the deal, grabbed his dog and slaughtered it at the feet of the general. General Maude said to the shepherd, “I’ll give you an additional shilling to skin this dog.”

The shepherd took the shilling and skinned the dog. Then the general offered to give him a third shilling if he cut the dog into one-quarter pieces. The shepherd took the shilling and chopped up the dog. Now the shepherd told the general that for a fourth shilling he would eat his dog.

To this the General answered: “I wanted to learn about your values in this country. And I discovered that you slaughtered, skinned and chopped up your most trusted friend and companion for three shillings! You were even ready to eat it for an additional one. That’s all I needed to learn about your country!” Then he addressed his soldiers and said, “As long as this kind of mentality prevails in this country and you can buy anyone, don’t fear anything or anyone!”

Since that time and until today in that part of the world, officials have sold their countries, their people, their friends, their honor and their principles for a house in Europe and a bank account in Switzerland. Are you any different from that shepherd?

Are the shepherds in this country different from shepherds in Baghdad, Iraq and other parts of the corrupt and selfish regions of this world? Let’s change the face of our country.

Are you in this category?