I have been following with dismay the recent events on the Iowa State campus from here in Paris.

At first, I was simply thrilled to be able to keep up with what was going on back at ISU via the modern-day miracle of the Internet, but the sweet thrill of surfing the net quickly turned sour upon the revelation that despite these advances, things haven’t changed.

I was, to say the least, devastated to read that Deantrious Mitchell was the victim of a cowardly attack that was apparently racially motivated. What’s more, even as removed as I am, I could tell just how palpable the racial tension is there.

That said, I was very pleased to read about the apparent effort on the part of many to raise money for the reward fund for information leading to the arrest of whomever is responsible.

However, it is also just as apparent that for many this incident has merely created another opportunity to bicker and sew the seeds of dissension and hate.

Living abroad and having already graduated, I can’t help but see these events in their larger context. Rather than pointing fingers, I implore you all to work together to ensure that the cowards responsible for this are brought to justice.

Please don’t use this event as an excuse to create further Balkanization of an already divided community, because down that path lies the hatred that has spawned the tragedies of Rwanda, Burundi, the Middle East and Bosnia.

Someone once said to me, “You’re never more proud to be an American than when you’re abroad.”

There is a lot of truth to that, but in addition, for me at least, being away makes me hypersensitive to the problems we face as a nation. We must come to terms with our tragic national history and the scars of division that are its legacy today.

What does that mean?

That means for my fellow Americans who happen to be part of the majority, a bit of soul-searching is in order.

Whether you realize it or not, you hold a privileged place in our society and can make all the difference either through your silence — and tacit complicity — or active acceptance of your responsibility to ensure the sins of the father do not become those of the child.

Nationally that means joining the fight against the disingenuous effort to promote “equal opportunity” (read: status quo) through the abolishment of affirmative action. Locally, that means being honest about your motives for applying funding criteria to groups that have never been used previously.

As for my brothers and sisters, please keep focused on why you are there.

Other than myself, there are only two people of color here at the U.S. Delegation to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The numbers are very much the same for the American Embassy in Paris. Rather than devoting so much energy, time, effort and creativity to the renaming of a building, why not redirect that energy into the creation of programs and initiatives that will help our brothers and sisters successfully graduate?

With a graduation rate of 35 percent, we can’t afford to waste time on Catt Hall.

Further, you must begin to take a stake in your community. Iowa State isn’t all bad. If you really believed so, you’d be foolish to stay. There are far too many other colleges and universities.

College is largely what you make of it. Yes, there are many a hurdle placed in the paths of people of color. But what’s new? Don’t just fight against something — fight to create something, too.

As for you both, please realize that America is so much more than just black and white and that everyone is trying to get his or her fair share of the American Dream pie.

President Jischke, that means that even in these days of shrinking budgets, programs need to be put in place to ensure that retention and graduation rates among students of color improve from their present dismal state.

The world is changing faster than we can even begin to fathom. At this very moment, Europe is poised to create a unified currency that will have far-reaching effects for us all, and the Pacific Rim is exploding with growth, and neither are going to wait while we figure out how to get past our petty differences. American world leadership will be but a memory if we do not figure out how to accord one another the respect every human being deserves.

Otherwise, we will continue to create a permanent underclass based on racial and class biases. This underclass will continue to act as an anchor preventing economic growth and prosperity and will eventually explode.

Only when we come to see our neighbors’ plight as our own will we be able to reverse this process. Despite all its faults, America is wonderful place to be from, and it’s a place worth saving and improving.

Continue the struggle.

Turn this tragedy of one into a starting point for redemption and action for many.

Peace.

---

David G. Mosby is a former Daily opinion editor and an ISU alumnus. He is now living in Paris, France.