“A man’s rights rest in three boxes, the ballot box, the jury box, and the cartridge box.” − Frederick Douglass, escaped slave, newspaper editor, author, crusader for freedom

Douglass knew a great deal about freedom, having lived first as a slave, then as a free man, and then long enough to see the end of slavery in the United States. So we should pay attention when he tells us about the three boxes. But have we paid attention? Or have we dozed off while others are pilfering those boxes?

• The ballot box is being compromised with election month instead of election day, software of dubious ancestry, and ballot counting under compromised conditions. Even worse, those who question election integrity are banned from social media, leading us to ask what is being hidden.
• The jury box is being compromised as jurors are intimidated by threats of rioting and by reckless remarks by a member of Congress and even by the President.
• The cartridge box is being compromised by threats of draconian gun control laws leading to confiscation.

Sorry, Mr. Douglass, but we didn’t listen to your wisdom, which you attained at such cost. We are allowing all three of those precious boxes to be looted. But if we awake from our nap, there is still time to refill their costly contents.

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