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By Jerry Lankford From The Editor
“Thou shalt not steal.”
Sound familiar? It’s one of the Ten Commandments.
Lance Teague, the Moravian Falls man who filed a lawsuit opposing the governmental posting of Ten Commandments plaques in county office buildings, has learned the meaning of that commandment first hand.
Last week a Buddha statue and other items were apparently stolen from a small garden in Teague’s front yard. He believes someone opposing his action or religious beliefs (he is a Buddhist) took his property.
That’s not all that Teague has endured since he first showed opposition to the plaques in February.
He’s been criticized, insulted (even publicly at a meeting of our county commissioners) and he’s been threatened.
It’s not clear who took Teague’s statue. It may have been a “Christian.” But it could have been a Taoist, Zoroastrian, Moslem, Hindu, Satanist, atheist or agnostic. It may have been someone who thought the Buddha looked cool and just wanted it.
One thing is for sure. The thief, by nature of his action, is a criminal.
Some say Teague has opened himself up for criticism. Perhaps he’s been keeping that door open by visiting area churches draped in Buddhist robes. But, if you live in America, you have the right to do these things. Those rights go a long way. They also allow strangers to approach Teague and tell him he’s wrong; gather at a commissioners’ meeting to criticize his opinion, and they allow his philosophical adversaries to display yard signs showing support for the plaques. Those rights also allow you to read about this and other issues in this and other newspapers, hear about them on the radio and watch news reports on T.V. The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution is a great thing. It should never be undermined. The acts of theft and threat making are not protected in the Constitution. Neither are they condoned in the Bible. |
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