Where do I live? Sometimes it is hard to recognize that this is still the United States of America, the country that I love. Oct. 10, the office for the Obama campaign in Elizabeth was vandalized. Windows were smashed and the owner of the property who lives in the adjacent building was subjected to an undue dose of terror.

The definition of the word terror is simply, extreme fear. When you use terror to try to make someone do something that you want, even if it is to just go away, it is an act of terrorism.

Do not mistake my message — I am not trying to equate the breaking of these windows as the same thing as the nefarious activity of an organized terrorist group such as al-Qaida. I am saying that whoever is responsible for this brutish act is unable to distinguish patriotism from freedom.

The perpetrators are afraid. They believe that Mr. Obama poses a threat to their way of life. They feel that they are entitled to lash out against those who are voicing a message of change. Their ignorance of the concepts of freedom outlined in the U.S. Constitution is legion.

The fear they have initiated is palpable. Regardless of political affiliation, any Elbert County resident who might be thinking of voting for Barack Obama was served a cold message of fear and loathing. The message is all about uncertainty. Should I put a sign up in my yard or will I be subjected to the same treatment? If I have an Obama sticker on my car, will I have the paint keyed or have sugar put in my gas tank? If my children talk about politics at school and voice support for Obama will they be bullied, or worse?

Too much of a stretch? Perhaps, but that is the way terror works. The damage is done in the mind. The cost of a few panes of glass is far outweighed by the uncertainty and sense of violation bestowed upon the property owner of the campaign office. Cleaning up the mess took minutes. Clearing minds of intimidation is measured in lifetimes.

Robert Thomasson

Elbert