Sheep-like people usage when it comes to politics

[A-friend]

Hi there
Imagine in a deteriorating political condition in a country, a politician is going to talk about their opinion about the reason behind the country's conditions.
Please let me know if my following self-made sentence below sounds natural to you or not:
- The only thing we are suffering from is our sheep-like, submissive people.
For me, it seems to be natural, but I doubt if it is a way a native speaker would phrase it.

 

[Barque]

I suggest "The only/main problem/obstacle that we are facing..."

Or "The only reason for our suffering is..."

One doesn't normally suffer from people, however sheep-like they may be, though they may suffer them, which is a different thing.