Breaking Commandments

Person who destroyed monument needs treatment more than condemnation

Acouple of years ago, the Arkansas Legislature cleared the way for a monument to the Ten Commandments to be erected at the state Capitol in Little Rock.

The monument was to be paid for with private funds so there would be no messy argument over the proper use of tax dollars. But that didn’t lessen the controversy. A lot of folks don’t agree with the idea of mixing religion and government. One group even tried to get a Satanic statue approved for the grounds in protest.

For most Arkansans, though, the Ten Commandments are not just a religious statement. They are good, sensible rules for living and they don’t see how anyone could have an objection to them.

Well, at least one person did. A big objection.

The 6-foot-tall monument was erected Tuesday. It lasted less than 24 hours.

On Wednesday, a man plowed his vehicle into the monument, over and over, toppling and shattering it into several pieces. He filmed the destruction and streamed it live on social media.

An Arkansas man, 32, was arrested and, as it turns out, he apparently had done the same thing three years ago to a Ten Commandments monument at the Oklahoma statehouse.

Well, it didn’t take long for the blame game to begin. It never does these days. And of course there were plenty of arguments on Facebook over religious freedom and separation of church and state, and no shortage of folks predicting the suspect would face eternal damnation in addition to whatever punishment the legal system here on earth could come up with.

But from the information available right now, it looks like this was an act born of mental illness and nothing more.

Yes, there are consequences to our actions. But more than anger, we feel pity. The monument will be replaced and the legal battles will start all over. But a human life, soul and mind are worth more than stone. We hope the person responsible gets needed treatment. That’s what the author of the Ten Commandments would want.