Poem: "Four Boxes"

[ysabetwordsmith]

This poem came out of the April 5, 2016 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired and sponsored by Anthony Barrette. Read about the four boxes of liberty.


"Four Boxes"


The political process and
the revolutionary process are
really part of the same spectrum,

the way electricity and magnetism
combine into electromagnetism.

A free society rests on four boxes --
the soap box, the ballot box,
the jury box, and the ammo box --
to be used in that order.

The political portion relies on
the ballot box and the jury box,
for changing society from within;
the revolutionary portion relies on
the soap box and the ammo box,
for changing society from without; but
they are all part of the same boxing match.

It is the citizen's duty to understand
which box to use, and when.

Comments

[alexseanchai]

I would never have thought to put it that way but ACCURATE

Yay!

[ysabetwordsmith]

I'm glad this worked for you.

[stardreamer]

Putting them on a spectrum is a good idea. I'd never thought of it that way, but it makes a lot of sense.

Yes...

[ysabetwordsmith]

My premise is that people should first attempt to solve problems with more civil and rational methods, and if that does not work, move down the list into less civil and more assertive methods rather than leave problems unsolved. I do not approve of causing needless mayhem when more genteel efforts would have worked. So the spectrum is necessary, much like a spectrum of force.