They couldn’t be more different. Yet within the past month, both have run afoul of norms of good behavior. One is a wealthy and successful producer and director; the other a respected civil rights leader. One is the star of “Mad Max,” “Gallipoli,” “Lethal Weapon,” and “Braveheart;” the other a former mayor of Atlanta, U.S. Congressman, and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. One brought us “The Passion of the Christ;” the other brought the Olympic Games to Atlanta. And they have both brought us face to face with the sore that has festered and contaminated our country since the framers of the Constitution argued whether women should vote and black people should be free and said “no” to both. Their names are Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson and Andrew Jackson Young, Jr. On July 28, Gibson was arrested for driving in excess of 85 miles an hour with a blood-alcohol level of 0.12 percent, and proceeded to spew anti-Semitic venom and comments derogatory to women, to put it charitably. On August 17, Young offered the following diatribe during an interview with the West’s largest African American newspaper, the Los Angeles Sentinel. When asked if he was concerned that his (now former) employer, Wal-Mart, was forcing mom-and-pop retailers out of business, he said: ” those are the people who have been overcharging us, selling us stale bread and bad meat and wilted vegetables. And they sold out and moved to Florida. I think they’ve ripped off our communities enough. First it was Jews, then it was Koreans and now it’s Arabs.” In the memorable lead-in to an old-time radio program, the announcer asked in a sonorous tone: “Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of man? The Shadow knows.” We don’t know what evil lurks in the hearts of Mel Gibson and Andrew Young, but we do know what came out of their mouths fear, anger, and hatred of people different than they are. All the carefully-crafted apologies don’t erase the words or the revealing thought processes of those who spoke them. The international furor over their intemperate-at-best remarks forces us to look at our own community. Let us not forget that the Rodney King tragedy occurred in the San Fernando Valley, that approximately 3,200 Japanese Americans were relocated from the Valley to detention camps during World War II, and that the now-shopworn phrase “white flight” referred to what one blogger on Black N LA referred to as “the lily-white Valley.” But it’s a different world now. It is difficult to write about race relations in our society without being branded either a racist on one hand, or a victim of political correctness on the other. But whether one’s politics tilt to the left or the right, there is no denying that the San Fernando Valley has become a truly multicultural, multiethnic region. According to the most recent San Fernando Valley Economic Report prepared by CSUN’s College of Business and Economics, in 2004 the San Fernando Valley was composed of 62.69 percent Latinos; 22.99 percent non-Latino Whites; 8.85 percent Asian, Pacific Islanders or Filipinos; 4.79 percent African Americans, and a variety of smaller ethnicities. While the Valley is home to people whose ancestors came not only from Europe, but Asia, Africa, Central and South America, but every other corner of the globe, our business leadership does not reflect that ethnic and cultural diversity. While organizations such as VICA, the Economic Alliance, several chambers of commerce, and others, have recognized the advantages of more diverse boards, the recognition still far outweighs the achievement. To the leaders of those organizations: try harder. To those who would like to be leaders in those organizations: tell them so. My friend Marc Tapper shared a relevant story: One night an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on within us all. He said, “My son, the battle is between two ‘wolves’ inside each of us. One wolf is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, greed, resentment, inferiority, lies, and superiority. The other wolf is Good. It is peace, hope, love, humility, kindness, benevolence, tolerance, generosity, truth, and compassion.” The young boy thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: “Which wolf wins?” The elderly Cherokee replied simply: “The one you feed.” Two final thoughts: Loyola University awarded Mel Gibson an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters in 2003. They should ask for it back; he doesn’t strike most of us as “humane” at all. Similarly, President Carter awarded Andrew Young the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1981. Twenty-five years later he seems to have forgotten that freedom in this country includes Jews, Koreans, and Arabs. “By swallowing evil words unsaid, no one has ever harmed his stomach.” Sir Winston Churchill Martin Cooper is Chairman of Cooper Beavers, Inc., marketing and communications. He is the Immediate Past Chairman of VICA, Past President of the Public Relations Society of America-Los Angeles Chapter and of the Encino Chamber of Commerce, and is Vice President of the Los Angeles Quality and Productivity Commission. He can be reached at [email protected] .