i am not a sheep!

my name is clay hartzog, and i am a human being.  

for the second time in my life, i felt like i had to announce that to people.  on saturday, our youth group was enjoying a very hot day at six flags over georgia.  suddenly, out of nowhere there arose a storm.  the man came over the loud speaker and announced that we should all seek shelter.  as the brightness of the sky began to fade, so did the humanity of the people in the park.  it was as if we all reverted to the intelligence of livestock.  i looked around me and saw a bunch of animals.  we were swiftly moving in herds toward the front gate.  i'll be honest...it creeped me out a bit.  i was like, "what is going on?"

the only other time i had felt this way was in the orlando airport back in january.  i was returning home from a class in daytona beach.  the security guards were forcing all of us to file into a really small holding area where we would await our opportunity to be scanned.  as i stood there in the middle of hundreds of individuals, i had the sudden urge to "moo". we looked like a bunch of cows waiting to be branded by the farmer.  of course my self-control kicked in and i remained silent.  it was still a very weird feeling.

i know this may seem like a strange post, but it just makes me think.  apparently in times of danger, we have a tendency to call upon our animal instincts.  also, in order to control groups of people, certain authorities tend to reduce them to the level of mere livestock.

all i have to say is, "i am not a sheep!"