Freedom Boxes

An unknown author of some bygone era once gave us this saying:

We have four boxes with which to defend our freedom:

The soap box

The ballot box

The jury box......

and

The cartridge box.

Today's entry will be an investigation as to exactly where we are in relation to these four boxes.

The Soap Box

This box represents all that was free and true when our country was founded. Any local activist could carry his soap box out into the middle of the town square and turn loose his monologue, on whatever subject suited him, for as long as his voice could hold out or his ideas hold an audience.
This held true for the local politician, minister, common citizen, or hawker of the town paper. Sadly, the soap box very seldom bears the weight of conviction honest men used to bring to it.

Oh, I know there were some theocratic areas of the country back then. But, by and large, the soap box stood pure. The rights and responsibilities of a free press were protected on the lid of that box. The irrefutable swoon of individual dissent was too. How could we have strayed so far away from its simple elegance today?

Today's press is so corrupted with political ideology that no one in the country gets the real news anymore. The best stories are buried or ran over roughshod to make room for those that fit an editor's agenda. A very good example of this would be the New York Time's killing of a story that tied Barack Obama to the vote fraud campaign and financing of A.C.O.R.N. But, we'll get into that in a moment. I just wanted to give you a preface on how these boxes intertwine with one another. Should the varnish of integrity start to wear off one, as it has with our media, it immediately opens a door to scrub a little off another of our Freedom Boxes.

Public display of religion has been all but outlawed in the public square. This was not what our Founding Father's had envisioned. People were to be free in their expression of religion. No one ever promised anybody freedom from being exposed to religion. Political Correctness has turned this country on its ear so badly that common folks can't decide whether its proper to wish someone Merry Christmas anymore. If the receiver of that blessing were not Christian why should they be offended at another for wishing them well? It has turned to lunacy without doubt. If a Muslim were to wish me Happy Ramadan, or a Jew to wish me Happy Hanukkah I doubt seriously I'd find anything offensive in that. I'd smile and say "Why, thank you very much sir!". Many times I find myself asking "What are we becoming?". Now Pastors and other religious figures may face persecution under newly suggested "Hate Crime" legislation? This is absurd and a direct assault on our soap box, not to mention our first amendment rights.

The common man and the politician have both been so bound up by political correctness that neither can express their true beliefs anymore. If you don't believe this just watch Mike Huckabee, a Baptist Minister by the way, skirt around the question of gay marriage. He will suggest a plethora of alternatives, state that he believes marriage was meant to be between a man and a woman, talk about the feasibility of civil unions, but under no circumstance will he say that homosexuality isn't right. He should, he is a Christian minister after all, but he won't. Instead he'll condone a behavior that I'm quite sure he denounces in private life. Look at what has happened to Carrie PreJean. Do you think this is an isolated incident? Just try going to your workplace and stating to your coworkers that you think homosexuality is immoral. How long will you have your job? Nope, I'd dare say, neither the politician nor the common fellow can get up on the soap box and really speak his mind anymore, not without repercussions.

The Ballot Box

This box has long protected the very heart of our representative republic. Today it has become but a vestigial organ belonging to a behemoth who is slowly dying from the cancer of corruption. Once upon a time the ballot box was guarded by laws and men that understood the very essence of the secret ballot. People were checked to be sure they had a right to participate as citizens of whatever venue they were voting in. A person's vote was considered sacred and of the utmost importance as it exemplified their dispatch of civic duty. No more....

A.C.O.R.N. (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) is supposed to be a 501(c)(4) entity. These entities normally follow a very strict policy of being nonpartisan as they receive taxpayer money for their operations. However, ACORN is anything but nonpartisan. They use the money given them by the taxpayer to rally behind democratic candidates and push them into office. In Philadelphia Pa. alone ACORN raised over 800,000.00 for Barack Obama's campaign. Considering the billions that were opened up to ACORN by Obama and the Congressional democrats after winning the election this screams of quid pro quo scandal so loudly its a wonder any of us can sleep. But that isn't the end of the story. A branch of ACORN set up for the 2008 elections called Project Vote, a 501(c)(3) entity subject to nonpartisan tax laws and regulation, cannot report that funds they received were not channeled into ACORN partisan activity. Please read this piece in the Canada Free Press:

ACORN lawyer admits group ties to Project Vote too close

But that isn't even the most brazen thing about ACORN and its ties to Obama, Barack was an attorney for ACORN and actually trained some of their "volunteers", what reeks even worse is the blatant voter fraud and voter registration fraud this group perpetrates on the American people. At the time of this writing I believe ACORN workers are being prosecuted in sixteen states.



These people had folks register multiple times, registered both Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, and payed people to vote with cigarettes and beer. Anyone still think its legal to pay someone to vote? Regardless of what the press would like you to believe Obama did not win a land slide victory. He got fifty two percent of the vote and McCain got forty eight. And yes, before you ask, I do know how the electoral college works. Looking at the aftermath of Acorn's manipulations one has to ask, did he really win? I know I'm maybe the only person that dares speak this aloud. But, was it rigged, will we ever know for sure?

The ballot box has been lain waste by a bunch of Alinsky disciples and a compliant media. As I prefaced earlier, just scrub off a little of that integrity varnish and watch the paint bleed over to our other Freedom Boxes. The secret ballot is not secure any more. Our only hope is that there is enough left of the system that we might stem the tide through the next election cycle. Conservatives of all stripes must rush the polls in a frenzy of rebirth.

The Jury Box

The last real hope for justice to an American. It is here that we defend our "innocent until proven guilty" system of law. From this box our citizens have handed out punishment and reprieve to millions over the last couple of centuries. And it was here that our Founding Fathers envisioned future Americans beating back the death toll of totalitarianism in our society. This box is meant to be the last nonviolent form of governmental control by the people. Why have we allowed activist judges to so permeate our legal system?

Most people today think that if they are called for jury duty their responsibility is to pass punishment against an individual they find guilty of violating a law. Even if the law in question is one that they totally disagree with. This simply is not true. One can fight against tyrannical law by simply refusing to convict. Let us suppose for a moment that you are a Libertarian who believes marijuana law to be draconian. (I am personally against drug use myself) And you are called to sit jury duty on a young man facing many years in prison for growing pot in his home. If the evidence all points him guilty of the offense must you find him guilty and set up the sentencing to follow? No, you can in good conscience refuse to convict. Let me quote from the Fully Informed Jury Association:


This avenue, despite all its roadblocks, is still accessible to Americans. It is via the courts that we must make a stand against what is happening today. Those with money must use it to present the case of limited government as it was meant to be. And the fight must be intense and endured. I, personally, am not ready to give up yet. There is so much more that still marvels me about this great country of ours than that which distresses me. But the battle must be waged!

The Cartridge Box

The last resort against a governmental body grown mad with power and blind to the freedoms inherent in all men. We have not traveled far enough down the path of big brother to open this box yet. I pray for my children's sake that we never will. However, it is not only the right but the responsibility of every American to hold this box always in reserve. Should the time come to die for our freedoms I would hope we all could choose to go while still exercising our rights as free men to defend the inalienability so long ago recognized by those who strove to create the greatest experiment in self governance ever conceived. Hopefully the ballot box and jury box can stave off what I have come to believe as inevitable for at least a little longer.

In closing I'd like to credit Ogre at www.ogresview.com for his original piece on the four boxes which I really tried hard not to borrow from as I wrote mine. There is a long story about how I came to write this piece. But, I'll save that for beer night. Good night and God Bless!

Musing Lew