By Jacob Stowers | LTVN Reporter

The First Amendment states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

Now that the U.S. government lesson is over, let’s talk about why people have been vandalizing cars. The First Amendment gives us the freedom to speak our minds, but it doesn’t cover smashing someone’s car to make a point. There seems to be a trend in America over the last few years of people feeling justified in committing property damage. Yet, they don’t seem to realize that they’re hurting individual people instead of the company.

Let’s take Tesla and Elon Musk out of the equation for a moment. Imagine a woman walking down the street with her favorite handbag. Now imagine someone coming up and painting all over it. The woman’s natural first reaction would likely be confusion or fear, but hours or days later, she would go to the same manufacturer and buy another equal or better purse, therefore giving more money to that manufacturer. I get that a car is a bigger deal than a handbag due to more financial and emotional aspects. Still, the outcome’s the same: the owner signs a check to rectify the situation, and the company cashes in.

Now, let’s circle back to the point of this article: Elon Musk and Tesla. The most basic Tesla you can buy is a Rear-Wheel-Drive Model 3, which comes in at $42,490, depending on which state you live in. I may be a college student, but even by a working professional’s standards, that is a relatively expensive car. Every time someone keys a Tesla (or runs into one with an ATV), the owner has to bring it back to a Tesla dealership or certified Tesla repair shop and spend $1,000 or more to get the paint fixed.

This is contradictory to the message they’re trying to send to Tesla, being that they’re putting thousands of dollars into Tesla and Elon Musk’s pockets, which only serves to prop up the organization more. While it might make people feel like they’re making a difference in the short term, it’s making Tesla a more prominent player in the global car market in the long term.

Let’s put our political science hats back on and analyze why maintaining private property is crucial for living in a society, as George Costanza would put it. The philosopher John Locke argued that your property (like your car) is yours because you worked for it. When someone defaces another individual’s property, they stomp on that right. As such, the government should defend that individual and their property, which I agree with 100%.

People shouldn’t feel scared to buy a new Tesla (or any car for that matter) because a small portion of the population disagrees with the CEO of the company. Why aren’t people keying Fords every time they park? Henry Ford was an outspoken and published antisemite. Yet, nobody’s rushing to Ford dealerships and defacing showroom floors or keying the cars on the lot with antisemitic symbols.

Everyone is entitled to their own value system, beliefs and opinions. Moreover, everyone should be able to express those same opinions so that they’ll be heard. However, having a dissenting opinion regarding a company doesn’t give people the right to deface others’ private property.

The most significant issue plaguing America right now is a lack of civil discourse. Yet, people aren’t going to be willing to come to the table and have those hard conversations if they’re afraid of the constant threat of violence. It’s my sincere hope that people take the first step by stopping this assault on private property and begin a discourse regarding their concerns. Violence isn’t the answer.