Jason Benell lives in West Des Moines with his wife and two children. He is a combat veteran, Dallas County supervisor candidate, and president of Iowa Atheists and Freethinkers.

The latest slate of legislative attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and education betray the seriously myopic view of Iowa Republicans. They might as well amend the state motto or flag to include the phrase “flyover country.”

This isn’t simply a matter of disagreement or a partisan grievance against particular things we may like or dislike. The facts and historical record show diversity has made the United States and states like Iowa strong and a good place to live. This extends beyond cultural touchstones and witty phrases and goes right into the heart of the Iowan economy and social interactions.

Let’s look at some bills Republicans have introduced this year. House File 2487, which House Republicans approved on March 12, and its companion Senate File 2303 would restrict “certain activities relating to diversity, equity, inclusion, and critical race theory by state entities and public institutions of higher education.” That bill is eligible for floor debate in the Senate. House File 2123 (which has not advanced but could be added to other legislation as an amendment) would similarly prohibit DEI training and certain types of curriculum for school districts.

The question I have to ask is why? Why do we need to restrict diversity in Iowa? Why do Republicans consider equity a harmful thing? And what is the issue with inclusion?

Before I try to answer those question’s, consider a fact: Iowa as a state is White As Hell. This isn’t an attack or an insult, it is simply reality.

Iowa is far less diverse than most of the surrounding states, and it seems Republicans intend to keep it that way. Whereas about 62 percent of the U.S. population is white, Iowa’s population is about 82 percent white. African Americans make up about 4.8 percent of Iowans compared to around 13.7 percent of the nationwide population.

Iowa’s lack of diversity is in stark contrast to neighboring states like Minnesota, Illinois, and Missouri. For that reason, it seems strange that Iowa Republicans are laser focused on eliminating diversity programs in the public sphere. Are they worried Iowa is going to become too diverse? Too equitable? Home to too many different ethnicities and backgrounds?

Iowa is already far outside the norm when it comes to diversity. Why is it such a priority to stamp it out in this state?

The easy and obvious answer is that many Iowa Republicans are racist. Their party’s agenda reflects a fear that Iowa may become more like the rest of the country, with a diverse population and diverse points of view.

I am open to hearing evidence and an argument that this is not the case, but I have yet to see or hear one. When we look at these bills and listen to committee discussions, we don’t see any evidence or justification for the proposals. We see no examples of diversity, equity, or inclusion causing harm to the people of Iowa.

Instead, we see hypotheticals, broad generalizations, and an almost willful misunderstanding of concepts like DEI. The intended result seems to be to shut down pathways for Iowa to become more diverse and capable of contending with the wider world.

What does this anti-diversity focus mean for the future of Iowa? It means we are going to be a weaker and less productive state. Think back to our country’s history, where places like Iowa flung open the doors for immigrants to come and create new lives here. 

This isn’t some feel good mushy story about doing the right thing, this is what actually made the U.S. strong—not only militarily, but also economically, culturally, and politically. We export entertainment around the world specifically because of the contributions by people of color from rock music to hip hop to pop.

The U.S. was a leader in the sciences because of immigrants. They often fled places clamping down on diversity—you may notice a pattern—and contributed to our great experiment, from Einstein’s theories to semiconductor technologies. Our economic strength, though marred by exploitation and inequalities since our founding, has benefited from diverse populations, from Chinese immigrants building railroads to modern day Central and South American workers in our agricultural sector.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is and has always been our strength as a country.

Attacking that idea shows the rest of the country and the world that Iowans don’t want strength. We don’t want resilience. We don’t want to bundle together our different backgrounds to build a better future. 

Instead, by attacking DEI we show that Iowa should be ignored. Folks with new ideas and contributions see red states putting up barriers to accessibility and pass right on by.

Why settle in a growing Iowa metro, where your kids might not even learn about the history of people like them? Why start a business in a mid-size town when your workers and customers might be swept up in an ICE raid or scared away by profiling? Why attend a university in Iowa, knowing your the degree may have asterisks attached? (Thanks to legislators who fear “woke” ideas, your program may no longer meet national guidelines.)

Why go to a state where you can’t get a decent taco or burrito, but you can get a mass produced chain meal as the “fancy” option?

This is why people “fly over” Iowa, not because we have farmers, Christians, and relatively flat terrain. Illinois has corn. Minnesota has soybeans. Missouri has Christians. The entire Midwest has agriculture as a main industry and a religious inclination. Iowa isn’t unique in any of those respects.

What makes Iowa unique is that it seems dead-set on making itself as irrelevant as possible with Republicans’ many anti-diversity laws and cultural initiatives. That is why young people are leaving Iowa, and why the state is losing its economic growth potential.

Republicans may like to target an acronym in their culture war, but they are undermining what made Iowa and America great. Diversity of thought, Equitable treatment of all people, and Inclusion of all within the body politic.

The more we attack the idea of DEI as a concept, the weaker and more brittle we become. We become less flexible to stresses to our political and economic systems. Innovation dies as we codify outdated and unworkable ideas into law and culture. When speaking out and showing up are seen as problems for the leadership in Iowa, when people with new ideas pop their head up to share them with others and see only opposition and demonization, they are just going to leave—and many have already done so.

If we want places like Iowa to be strong and relevant, we need to stop letting Republicans assault the things that make us strong. Stop letting your representatives act as if DEI is some strange new acronym that undermines our ability to function. Stand up for the marginalized people in your communities that make them nice places to live. Fight back against revisionist Republicans attacking libraries, schools, and public spaces. 

If we want to make Iowa a destination worth fighting for and a place that attracts people, we will need to show the rest of the country that Iowa isn’t destined to be a rural backwater that continues to export young people, soybeans, and cow shit. We can do this if we educate ourselves and demonstrate to others that Iowa just might be worth stopping in.

We’ll have to do all of that soon, or they will just keep flying over that culturally, economically, and politically weak state in the middle of America.