Man And Dog > IDEAS & IDEALS

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Dogs, especially the well-trained dogs, perform some tasks far better than man can possibly do. With their extremely sensitive organ of smelling and hearing, stout physique and admirable patience, they detect the hidden narcotics and bombs, track and catch the escaping prisoners, keep the house, chase the games for the hunters, lead the blind, disperse the mobs, and even please the crowds by fighting on the ring. They are loved by their masters for many reasons, but more than anything else, for the loyalty they show to them. Truly the loyalty they devote to their masters is often moving enough to draw our tears. Dogs are invariably so loyal and gentle, obedient and faithful to their masters even when the master is just a small boy or an old man, weak and senile, ready to die anytime.

      My admiration for the dogs, particularly for the incredible performance and the legendary loyalty displayed by the well-trained dogs, persuaded me to own a one and train it to the level of my satisfaction. But soon I abandoned my hope of having such a dog because it cost me too much money, time and energy. I came to learn that I had to buy a really good dog at the exorbitant price to begin with. They say that ordinary dogs will not do. They say that only those good dogs born in pure blood, with high intelligence and physical superiority, are worthy of being trained for some use. They should be fed well, of course, nay, much better than ordinary dogs, even better than the masters themselves. I have decided, therefore, to be satisfied with the mutt I have that is just intelligent enough to tell my family from the strangers.

      My happiness and pleasure with my mutt have often been broken in the morning walks by those who own a fierce-looking attack dog in the leash. The master and the dog seem to ignore me and my dog completely. They seem equally proud, secure, and strong. I feel great fear in front of them for the master can unleash his dog any time when he just likes to do it. I feel very sad and unhappy whenever my dog cowers and cringes before them by hiding its tail between the hind legs, and I am helpless about it. I once thought of some form of revenge by having more fierce-looking dangerous attack dog myself, but dismissed the idea.

      To my great horror and utter astonishment, I have learned to know recently that some very intelligent  but crazy men in some countries train not dogs, but men like dogs. And these man-turned-dogs have proved to be far more efficient, useful, and loyal to their masters than the real dogs. They can be trained not only to sit and wait; they can be trained to torture persons, cut throats, fire guns, install bombs, fly the air planes, operate very sophisticated gadgets, push the button for launching missiles.

      The danger of these human attack dogs can not be compared with that of the real dogs, as we have seen in the recent history of the world. How could they...? We often ask whenever we confront the inhuman crimes committed by our fellow men against mankind: tortures, mass murders, massacres, and genocide. But they happened and happened all out of loyalty to their masters. Exactly like the unleashed attack dog that pounces upon the helpless hare and tears it into pieces, the man-turned-dogs did all the atrocities at the command of their masters. The sad truth is that we can not hold them in responsibility for the acts they have done. We can hardly prosecute the dogs, can we?

      How could a man possibly turn into such an inhuman animal worse and much more dangerous than a dog? Simple. Through training. And the effect of the training reaches its peak when the man is not allowed to have access to the multiple sources of news and information, when the man is supplied with only the news and information specially made and planned for the purpose of the training. History shows us clearly that all those human attack dogs that have committed all those heinous, inhuman, and barbarous crimes against humanity had their day under dictatorial or under dictatorial governments which are invariably characterized most conspicuously by the suppression of freedom of speech and expression, and by the manipulation of the news and information for their own purpose of propaganda.

      Man and dog have much in common. They feel hungry when they starve, feel pain when hurt. They have to sleep and have urges to reproduce themselves. They are afraid of the whip of punishment and love the reward of praise. However, these common features should not persuade us to overlook the infinite scales of humanity ranging from those who are far inferior to dogs to those who reach the halo of the angels. I fear fierce-looking attack dogs. What I fear more than them is the human attack dogs. What I fear most is the ever-present possibility that I might turn into an attack dog myself, gentle-looking but more dangerous, in spite of myself.
     (September 12, 1978)