Leppert Commentary: ‘The Talk’ won’t get us through the evil of ICE’s mask-wearing
By Michael Leppert The Indiana Citizen May 14, 2025 In the opening scene of the film, “The Hate U Give,” a father is having The Talk with his two young children. It is a common discussion Black families have in America to prepare for the inevitable contact with law enforcemen “...”
Leppert Commentary: Graduation comes so fast we don’t have time for pretending
By Michael Leppert The Indiana Citizen May 7, 2025 In “Mother Night,” Kurt Vonnegut wrote: “We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.” I might add: “And for how long.” I was invited to join a small group of students last week to “...”
Leppert Commentary: Stories endangering women and civil rights are like ships passing in the night
By Michael Leppert The Indiana Citizen April 30, 2025 Since the measure was first coined by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1933, the “First 100 Days” is the standard we exclusively give new presidents “as a symbolic window to set the tone” of their administration. “It “...”
Leppert Commentary: Tariff madness is hanging Indiana, no matter how Braun spins it
By Michael Leppert The Indiana Citizen April 23, 2025 I have often wondered where the phrase “spinning a yarn” came from, and what differentiates the descriptive from the blunter, “making stuff up.” This week’s absurd spin, courtesy of Indiana Gov. Mike Braun, finally i “...”
Leppert Commentary: Nobody is safe in America, not from America, not anymore
By Michael Leppert The Indiana Citizen April 16, 2025 “Bridge of Spies” is a 2015 movie about an insurance attorney, James Donovan, who finds himself representing a Soviet spy, Rudolph Abel, in a highly publicized espionage trial in 1957. Yes, it’s directed by Steve “...”
Leppert Commentary: Jim Banks’ mad handing is no coincidence; it’s a modern, political aspiration
By Michael Leppert The Indiana Citizen April 9, 2025 The term “glad handing” appeared in the American vernacular at the beginning of the 20th century, through the phrase, “to give the glad hand,” or extend a welcome. But that type of welcome has generally come with a twis “...”
Leppert Commentary: Liberals’ ‘abundance agenda’ takes time to absorb, but it’s worth it
By Michael Leppert The Indiana Citizen April 2, 2025 A friend sent me a link to an episode of “Pod Save America” on Sunday with the short message, “This is worth your time.” The podcast is a favorite among the left, hosted by a small group of former Obama advisers who des “...”
Leppert Commentary: John Green’s ‘Everything is Tuberculosis’ is a tragic story of injustice
By Michael Leppert The Indiana Citizen March 26, 2025 Henry Reider is a young man from Sierra Leone who recently and miraculously survived tuberculosis. Using the words “recently” and “miraculously” to describe his recovery from a disease that has had a preventive vaccine “...”
Leppert Commentary: With America at war with itself, Democrats should revisit the art of it
By Michael Leppert The Indiana Citizen March 19, 2025 Sun Tzu, the former Chinese general, military strategist and philosopher, is known for his treatise, “The Art of War.” It’s remarkable how valuable the writings, believed to have been written in the 5th century BC, conti “...”
Leppert Commentary: Jason Isbell and Amanda Zurawski both declare ‘it’s time to be brave’
By Michael Leppert The Indiana Citizen March 12, 2025 I teach storytelling, though the official titles of the classes are things like presentations, writing or speech for business. But on the first day of school in all of my classes, I put a slide on the screen with this quote fr “...”