During a discussion that had turned towards the subject of what it takes to start a revolution, and whether war was really necessary, war was referred to as the catalyst, or the spark. Which had me thinking: if war was the spark, what was everything else? Where would government, and the like come in?
The kindling would be the general problems that the people who rebelled lived under. The smaller things that build up over time, like pine needles or old newspapers do. They might support some anger, but could only sustain it for a little while alone. A kindling fire, when nothing else is there, would be easy enough to smother and put out.
The weakened government itself would be the chopped logs that burn in the fire. While a kindling fire might not do much, the kindling can get a nice blaze going with enough fuel. A weak government is the perfect setting for a revolution.
The larger problems would be the gasoline poured over the top of it all. Gasoline is a quick-catching flammable liquid. It catches fast, it burns quickly, but it travels even faster. Because it is a liquid, it can make it’s way onto cloths, it can run across surfaces and even float across water. Little problems, generally speaking, don’t apply to everyone, are more annoying and representative than necessarily problematic, or some combination there of. Larger problems spread and affect everything they touch, ready to go up in flames at any time.
War, the example used in the original discussion but not the only possibility, would be the spark or catalyst. It would jumpstart the activities of the revolution, lighting the kindling and the gasoline and logs in such a way so as to bring everything together into the flames of change.
It is important to note, however, that the flames of change: not revolution. Even with the kindling, the spark, the gasoline and wood all together and in order, one might not have a revolution. It is possible to smother a roaring fire with the right materials, the right timing. If a fire is smothered early enough, the flames might not have taken hold: merely blackening the wood and kindling. Effectively causing little change, but leaving marks and memories that could, depending, either protect the wood somewhat from further damage or harbor a burning ember that might one day flame up again. Likewise, smothering a fire may put it out, but might just as easily store burning embers and coals until some future time.
If a war, or an event that also emphasizes problems and weakens the government, is the spark, then it is not too hard to see how everything else fits together into the fire and spark metaphor.
