Once again a religious retreat has been raided by the U.S. Government. Over 400 children taken from their family and placed in a stranger’s house.

The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is an organized religion. It has its roots in the Mormon Church. Much the same as the Episcopalian Church has its roots in the Catholic Church.

The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a doctrine which allows men to take several wife’s. The Muslim religion also has this feature.

Not everyone wants to practice this type of religion. I for one do not agree that a man should have more than one wife. Nor do I agree that a person should marry more than once. But the fact remains that I cannot impose my morals and beliefs on my neighbors. Many of my neighbors have married and divorced 3, 4, even 5 times. This is something I view as an American version of polygamy.

Our Constitution guarantees us the right to religious freedom. The first amendment reads in part: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;…” What happened to the part about “prohibiting the free exercise thereof”?

I also take issue with the words used to report this incident. Children being sent to bed without supper is the same as children being deprived of food. Children being left in isolation is the same as children being placed in a time out box. A religious retreat is the same as a religious compound. Sect, Cult and Religion all describe the same thing. A man with a gun can be a “terrorist” or a “freedom fighter“, just depends on what side of the fence you are on.

The authorities have now disrupted forever the lives of 400 plus children. These are children that for the rest of their lives will remember the U. S. Government as the force that took them from their family. The force that placed them in a stranger’s house (yes house not home). These are 400 plus citizen that will always feel a resentment towards the government.

As for the raid justification? Authorities say a phone call to a women’s shelter from the wife of one of the men led the court to issue a search warrant, even though it was reported she recanted in a later phone call. Could this be just a disagreement between husband and wife? However, and something very important to remember, is that the caller cannot be found. Is this just a ploy by our government to justify their interference into the lives of law abiding citizens that practice a different religion?

Media reports indicate the wife was threatened by hell fire and eternal damnation if she left the family. Is this the same hell fire and eternal damnation that befalls Church of Christ members that stray from the Church teachings? Same goes for the Baptists, Catholics and most religions.

In my part of the world, here in Texas, a lot of children go to bed hungry. A lot of children have no clothes to wear for school. Some children have a prostitute for a mother. Some children have no father, or if they do have one he is a drug addict. UNCLE SAM WHERE ARE YOU. THE CHILDREN OF THIS COUNTRY NEED YOU. Why then does the government not take those children and put them in safe foster homes? Those children are in much more danger than those at the religious retreat.

Instead of persecuting those that have a different religion, how about lending those resources to the ones that really need them.