Who Shaketh The Jar? A Metaphor for this Fourth Turning Put an equal number of red ants & black ants in a jar & they will move about unbothered. If you shake the jar the ants will begin fighting. 15 minutes later there will be none left alive. Sound familiar? Distracting debate about ’natural enmity’ or ‘irreconcilable differences’ can be distilled to single fundamental question: “Who, exactly, is doing the shaking?” Once you see this , it cannot be unseen.