Battle racism, hatred

I am deeply grieved by the news that Shaima Alawadi, an Iraqi mother of five living in California, was beaten to death with a tire iron.

Found on her body was a note: “Go back to your own country. You’re a terrorist.” This incident shows what the political rhetoric and rancor of the past 10 years has done to the American psyche. A spark of anger and hatred spurred by our popular culture and political leaders has turned into a fire within the fringe of our country; Trayvon Martin was gunned down for wearing a hoodie while black. This deep-seated resentment of other races, of people unlike us, lies in the hearts of many. This isn’t a problem isolated to one community, but ingrained within the very fabric of our society.

It would be easy to give up hope of a better tomorrow, a tomorrow without hatred and reckless violence, but we cannot. We are the answer. We must be active architects of a better country and a better world. We must challenge every instance of inequality, no matter how small it is. While overcoming our history’s dark side is not pleasant, it is something we must actively do every day.

Derrick Skaug

Colbert