For over 150 years, London’s Hyde Park has been a bastion of free speech and democracy. In a section called Speaker’s Corner, any brave citizen can stand up and say whatever’s on his mind, to the ever-present crowd. Formerly the site of public hangings, this corner of the park is a level playing field for all. Unlike Oxford or Cambridge, it has no entry requirements, no rules of intellectual formality and no class restrictions. In years past, the speakers have included such notables as Karl Marx, Marcus Garvey, Vladimir Lenin, and George Orwell.

In order to get a better view of the audience, and in the absence of a formal podium, it became customary for the speaker to stand upon a wooden crate, the type that was customarily used for the purpose of transporting bars of soap.

Hence was born the phrase, “to get on one’s soapbox.” This term describes the process of a person offering his unsolicited opinions in a public setting, to a captive audience.

Here's your chance to sling some suds.

If you haven't already been there, please see my website, at http://www.hutsonbooks.com