The power of sand inside cogs…

An interesting way to effectively resist autocratic leaders, or any dictator for that matter, is to think small, like a grain of sand, into what would be an oppressing machine with cog wheels all over (think of a giant gearbox). 

These mechanical devices don’t enjoy the presence of pesky hard foreign particles that will impede their smooth function and eventually cause them to stop. A perfect illustration for the expression "Sand in the gears" means to cause problems or prevent something from happening as it should. Sand can cause significant damage to cogwheels. 

So for people who don’t look forward to having a despotic president about to seize power, that’s the solution for resisting instead of fleeing their own country. They just have to turn into that lowly grain of sand that causes some of the following problems to the big gearbox we’re talking about. 

The most obvious one is abrasion, even with tiny but hard stone particles that get crushed between the teeth of the cogwheels, acting like sandpaper and causing wear and tear. If this abrasion persists it will lead to the teeth of the cogwheels becoming rounded or chipped, reducing their ability to mesh or lead properly. 

This causes increased friction between gears, leading to increased wear and tear and potentially overheating. Eventually, sand can get trapped between the teeth of the cogwheels in such ways nothing can turn smoothly and potentially causing the mechanism jams. 

The severity of the damage will depend on several factors, starting with the type of sand, as fine sand is generally more abrasive and in time can cause more wear than coarse sand that’s more capable of bringing the system to stop faster. 

If no one sees the grain of sand entering the machine, so much the better, and sooner than later will the horrible device come to a screeching halt. Just remember that!