The Other Dog has my Ball.

Do not be a wuss, says the Owner. Go after him.

He snatched it from under my nose, I say. He was a Meanie, I say.

I know, says the Owner. Go and get it back.

Aggression does not come naturally to the Moral Dog, I say, you have raised me to Display Reason and Fairness, not Violence and Intimidation.

I have not raised you to be a Wuss, says the Owner.

There is a difference between displaying Reason and Fairness and Being a Wuss, I say. I am a Pacifist.

That is Very Noble, says the Owner, but being a Pacifist may unfortunately involve acceptance that you Will Not get your Ball Back.

I was rather hoping you might get it for me, I say.

But I may have to resort to Violence and Intimidation, says the Owner.

I know you will do the right thing, I say.

You are not a very good Pacifist if you send Others to Fight battles on your Behalf, says the Owner. In fact one might also infer that you are in fact not a Pacifist but a Cowardy Custard.

How could you suggest such a thing? I ask. You should remember the inspiring story of Desmond T. Doss, who refused to bear arms but nevertheless went to war. He won the Congressional Medal of Honour for bravery, selflessness and compassion after he risked his life, without firing a shot, to save 75 men in the Battle of Okinawa.

I was there when you watched the movie Hacksaw Ridge, says the Owner. I cried even more than you did when Desmond T. Doss saved all those people.

It inspired me, I say. That is why I will not fight the Other Dog for my Ball, but I will come with you whilst you fight him and, like Desmond T. Doss, I will rescue you should it all go badly wrong.

Would you really? Asks the Owner, even if the other Dog proves particularly Savage when Challenged and the Moral Dog must, like Desmond T. Doss, face Perils of Extraordinary Terror armed only with his sense of what is the Moral Course?

I would drag you to safety and lower you over a cliff in the face of Enemy Intimidation just as Desmond T Doss did, I say.

I am touched, says the Owner. In that Case, I will rescue the Ball. Be prepared to do any Necessary Dragging.

Moments later we leave the Park. I have my Ball and my Honour, and I have not had to betray my Pacifist Principles. The Owner has Prevailed with no Violence and the Minimum of Intimidation. It is a highly Morally Commendable Outcome.

It was an Extremely Small Dog though, says the Owner.

That is hardly the point.

Categories: dignity dog dog philosophy pacifism

Hergest the Hound

I am a dog of many thoughts.