It has been 2 years and 364 days since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks rocked the nation. It's also been 2 years and 364 days since Arab and Chaldean Americans have taken undue discrimination in forms never before seen or endured.

Finally, action has been taken at the state level to connect the lives of Arab and Chaldean Americans to the Capitol. A Commission on Arab and Chaldean American Affairs was founded last week with the intent of working with Gov. Jennifer Granholm to keep our state up to speed on the largest population of Arabs and Chaldeans outside of the Middle East.

Unlike the analogy that compares America to a melting pot, Michigan has been more of a salad in recent years. We're all lumped together, but racism directed at those of Arab or Chaldean descent keeps us from melding into one another. This commission can be expected to bridge that gap in our collective societal mistrust.

It is more than appropriate for such a commission to finally come to existence. After 9-11, several Muslim, Chaldean and Arab-American students at MSU were made targets of discrimination.

With uninformed people committing acts of hatred, Michigan was simply not a safe place for many Arab and Chaldean Americans who lived here, yet had nothing to do with the terrorist attacks. Yet, the stupidity of some of our fellow Michiganians drove many to feel needlessly unsafe.

Granholm deserves commendation. The time for the Commission on Arab and Chaldean American Affairs might be past due, but better late than never.

A society that is multicultural should not be mixed to make one thing, for our differences should be celebrated. Instead, they define who we are and what we're about while being able to draw from other cultures. This commission should restore the faith lost within many Michiganians of Middle Eastern descent. It provides them with a voice that will advance their chances of living in an educated, diverse society.