By Bill Moreau
The Indiana Citizen
July 31, 2026
I hope you’ve had a chance to read IU History Professor Emeritus James Madison’s recent commentary comparing our Christian nationalist Lt. Governor, Micah Beckwith, to D.C. Stephenson, who led the Indiana Ku Klux Klan a century ago. No one is better qualified to draw that comparison than Prof. Madison, who literally wrote the book on the subject, The Ku Klux Klan in the Heartland. This is the third time Prof. Madison has shared his insights with our supporters about the echoes he hears from that benighted period. The first two are here and here.
Prof. Madison reminds us of the control Stephenson had over Gov. Ed Jackson. Until his murder conviction, Stephenson was the tail that wagged the dog. One hundred years later, is LG Beckwith the tail that wags the dog, Gov. Mike Braun?
Prof. Madison aptly characterizes Stephenson as “a master of selling hatred.” The Klan urged Hoosiers to hate Jews, African-Americans, immigrants and Catholics. But Prof. Madison used “homophobic, transphobic, Islamophobic and xenophobic” to describe LG Beckwith’s agenda. Why?
It’s the difference between hate and fear.
We know LG Beckwith is capable of and exhorts the rest of us to hate. He makes no bones about it, and he’s trying to enlist the rest of us to hate as much as he does.
I keep a Webster’s dictionary within reach and it tells me “phobia” is defined as “an exaggerated, usually inexplicable and illogical fear of a particular object or class of objects.”
It caused me to wonder whether I have become “Beckwithophobic.” The thing is, though, I don’t fear Mr. Beckwith. If I feared him, that would make me as much of a coward as he is. And he can’t infect me with the hate he spews. Thanks to my upbringing, I’m immune.
Instead, he triggers nausea. He sickens me. Accordingly, I must suffer from a condition I’ll call “Beckwithosis.”
This caused me to wonder what I would do if I met this nauseant in person.
A year ago, I attended one of his “pep rallies” at Life Church in Noblesville and sang along when he led us in “God Bless America.” I’ve also watched far too many videos of him since he took office. But we’ve never been introduced. Would I refuse to shake his hand? Absolutely not. This Army brat, Eagle Scout and former public servant would show enough respect for his office to shake his hand. But then what? What would I say to him?
Because he evokes in me revulsion and not fear, could I sublimate my gag reflex enough to list the innumerable ways he has demeaned hundreds of thousands of innocent Hoosiers and denigrated his high office? Would I tell him he is unfit and unworthy to hold a position that is one heartbeat away from the governorship?
And this got me thinking about an important question Prof. Madison raises about the energy LG Beckwith draws from the abject silence of most Hoosier religious, business and education leaders. Mute in public, what are Indiana’s powerful–who privately are appalled by LG Beckwith’s rhetoric–saying behind closed doors to the state’s second highest-ranking official after the deferential greeting? Are they taking him aside for a moment to say, “For the record, I find your intentionally inflammatory language to be divisive. You’re damaging Indiana’s image as a welcoming state. We can’t retain and attract a talented workforce when you’re disseminating such hate-filled messages. Although I disagree with you, I’m not asking you to change your beliefs. I’m just asking you to remember you represent all the people of Indiana.”
And what are the leaders of Indiana saying when they have a private moment with Gov. Braun, his staff or agency heads? Once the official business has wrapped up, do they take a moment to register their disapproval of the Lt. Governor’s bilious rantings? I doubt they do, which permits the Governor and his folks to say, “We don’t hear any complaints about Beckwith from people who matter.”
Which means the most powerful people in Indiana don’t have the courage to speak truth to power. Their silence is being characterized as assent.
So here’s the challenge I make to the leaders of Indiana: Unless you fear Micah Beckwith, will you muster the courage to tell him to his face that you disagree with his hate-filled invective, that he’s harming Indiana’s image, that you wish he’d restrict his Christian nationalist preaching to the pulpit at his other full-time job? When you meet with the Governor or members of his team, will you take a moment before your departure to deliver the same message?
And how are we regular Hoosiers interacting with LG Beckwith? Not surprisingly, his social media would suggest we’ve laid out the welcome mat, we’re being polite and non-threatening, extending more Hoosier hospitality than he does. So when he posted a rosy report of his recent trip to Purdue in his capacity as Secretary of Agriculture, I don’t doubt the attendees greeted him pleasantly with nary a discouraging word being uttered.
I wonder how he’d react if more of us told him to his face that we’re sick of his hateful verbiage. Imagine if LGBTQ or trans or Muslim or immigrant Hoosiers would see him, walk up with their right hand extended, politely introduce themselves and say, “Mr. Beckwith, I wish you would stop attacking me and the people I love.” Imagine if those of us who aren’t yet among his hate targets would say, “Stop attacking the people I love.”
And what if we delivered a similar message to state officials we might encounter, from the Governor to a state legislator or any of the tens of thousands who are drawing a state paycheck?
We’d be able to say, “Today, I spoke truth to power.”
The views and opinions expressed are those of the author only and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Indiana Citizen or any other affiliated organization.
The Indiana Citizen is a nonpartisan, nonprofit platform dedicated to increasing the number of informed and engaged Hoosier citizens. We are operated by the Indiana Citizen Education Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)(3) public charity. For questions about this commentary, contact Bill Moreau at bill.moreau@indianacitizen.org
