THE DAILY NEWS JOURNAL

Two acts of vandalism over the past week tell us something: Stupidity never goes out of style.

Last Thursday, Homer Pittard Campus School got a rude welcome to campus after someone broke the locks on its marquee and rearranged the letters to spell out a racial slur and sexual reference. This sort of language is troubling anywhere, but the fact that MTSU's training school on East Lytle Street has a black woman serving in her first year as principal makes it even worse for her, the staff, students and parents. It's too coincidental.

In the second incident, the words "Not welcome" were spray-painted over the weekend on the sign of the future home of the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro at Bradyville Pike and Veals Road just outside the city limits.

The Islamic Center has existed for more than 10 years in Murfreesboro and already has a location on Middle Tennessee Boulevard. The fact that it is preparing to construct another building shows that it needs to expand to serve a growing populace.

The First Amendment of the Constitution guarantees American citizens freedom of religion, and for someone to paint such an idiotic message on the center's billboard is a clear sign that we have some backwards nuts in our midst.

Smack dab in the middle of the Bible Belt, Rutherford County's religion of choice remains Christianity. As our community becomes more diverse, some tension can be expected, especially when we've been at war with the Islamic terrorist group al-Qaida in Afghanistan since the 9/11 attacks.

A true Christian, though, reaches out to people of all faiths and welcomes them into the community.

These two acts were likely perpetrated by teenagers looking to do damage wherever they could find the opportunity. Still, there's something sinister lurking behind these acts, because they aren't run-of-the-mill vandalism. They are a clear effort to sow discord in the community and build walls between people.

But by no means do they represent the feelings of our community, and we call on our faith leaders to send a message that this type of behavior is unacceptable.

We also expect local law enforcement agencies to investigate both incidents just as they would any other heinous act of vandalism.

These types of vandalism are not isolated to our region of the South. You can go almost anywhere in America and find people who are intolerant. Yet, seeing something such as this in our midst awakens us from a haze of apathy and alerts us that our community and the entire nation have a long road to travel before we keep the promise that all Americans enjoy the right to pursue life, liberty and happiness.

For students, staff and parents of Campus School, last week's slur was a lesson of sorts reminding us that we still have plenty of backwards individuals who would level cowardly attacks on the residents of Rutherford County.

Instead of turning a blind eye to this type of vandalism, it is the responsibility of Rutherford County residents to confront and blot out all forms of racism and religious intolerance. This is a wakeup call.

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Opinions in this space reflect a consensus of the discussion by The Daily News Journal Editorial Board. The Board includes Andrew Oppmann, president and publisher; Jimmy Hart, executive editor; Sam Stockard, opinion editor; Tim Davison, senior editor/digital and production; Michelle Russell, office manager; and David Colin, community member.